The Gulf Sheba, a supertanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, is still scheduled to load a cargo in Libya, according to its owner. The vessel will pick up the crude from the port of Es Sider, Per Wistoft, chief executive officer of Dubai-based Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC, said by phone today. The carrier last signaled its arrival date as Feb. 26, according to ship- tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Brent crude oil futures jumped as much as 17 percent to $119.79 a barrel this week, partly on speculation the conflict will disrupt exports. The Seabravery picked up 600,000 barrels of oil at the Zawia and Es Sider export facilities and sailed at 1 a.m. local time yesterday, according to Dimitris Tsahalis, chartering manager at Athens-based Thenamaris Ships Management Inc., which owns the vessel.
Libya pumps 1.6 million barrels a day, exporting most of its crude and fuel across the Mediterranean to Europe, according to Bloomberg estimates. That’s about 1.8 percent of world oil supply. It is Africa’s third-largest oil producer after Nigeria and Angola. Libya’s 44.3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves are the largest deposit in Africa and 3.3 percent of the global total, according to BP Plc.
Operations at Libyan oil ports are suspended, Al Arabiya television reported Feb. 22.