Glencore loses exclusive marketing rights to two Libyan oil grades
BP and Royal Dutch Shell return to the conflict-torn North African country and start lifting oil directly from there
London — Trading and mining giant Glencore has lost its exclusive marketing rights for two of Libya’s main crude oil export grades after holding them since late 2015, trading sources with direct knowledge said. The Switzerland-based firm had secured the rights to the Sarir and Messla grades when it was one of the few foreign companies willing to deal with the North African country during unrest that has wracked the country since 2011. Glencore, which had exclusive rights on the two grades until the end of 2018, and Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC), declined to comment. In a sign of renewed international confidence in Libya’s oil industry, BP and Royal Dutch Shell returned to lifting directly from the country in 2018, initially taking other grades. “Glencore lost exclusivity on Messla and Sarir," one of the trading sources told Reuters, asking not to be named. "Companies like BP and Shell had their first Messla and Sarir allocation.”
A second trader said now “anyone can get the...
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