Benghazi-based oil services company Arkenu Oil Company – set up only in 2023 and whose ownership is unknown – is said to have exported 5 million barrels of crude from the Marsa Al-Hariga terminal in Tobruk over recent months, with more due to follow soon, African Energy website said.
It added that the oil shipments continued while facilities across the rest of the country had been blockaded by forces controlled by Benghazi-based Khalifa Haftar. According to the website, all oil shipments are believed to have gone to China. African Energy approached Arkenu and the National Oil Corporation for comments, but hadn’t received any.
According to a well-placed source in Libya speaking to African Energy, Arkenu exported two cargoes in May, although this was not reported at the time. It exported a further cargo in July, news of which was first reported in African Energy. Two further cargoes were sent in August. It is expected to ship two more in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, a recent report published by OilPrice website considered that "Haftar's clan is still making oil money through a private oil company based in Benghazi (Arkenu) that is allowed to freely bypass the blockade and export to international markets."
"This means that the National Oil Corporation is not in any way in control at the moment, and that major international companies operating in Libya will pay close attention to who their exports go to, while observers will also be interested in knowing where this money goes." The report says.
The website reported that Arkenu's oil sales go to the company's foreign bank accounts, bypassing the Libyan state, which the report explained by saying: "This means that Haftar is bypassing the role of the bank and allowing oil exports to pass to earn revenues that can be directed to Benghazi. Therefore, the increase in exports does not necessarily mean that talks aimed at mediating the crisis have made any progress."
