DUBAI: The United Nations on Thursday aims to raise the final $29 million needed to start salvaging 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying vessel moored off war-torn Yemen’s coast and avert an environmental disaster.
UN officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen’s coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.
A UN plan to offload the oil needs $129 million, which includes purchasing a large tanker, the price of which has shot up due to the war in Ukraine. Around $99 million has been raised from governments, private donors and crowdfunding.
A UN pledging event co-hosted by Britain and the Netherlands on Thursday hopes to raise the remaining $29 million, the UN said.
A tanker, the Nautica, was procured by the UN in March and set sail from China in early April.
The operation cannot be paid for by the sale of the oil because it is not clear who owns it, the UN has said.
War suspended maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. The UN has warned its structural integrity has significantly deteriorated and it is at risk of exploding.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
Peace initiatives have seen increased momentum since Riyadh and Tehran in March agreed to restore diplomatic ties severed in 2016.
A Saudi delegation in April went to Sanaa seeking a permanent cease-fire. Houthi authorities said more talks would happen after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which was two weeks ago.
UN Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg is holding meetings in Yemen and the region this week.
UN conference seeks final funds for Yemen Safer oil tanker operation
https://arab.news/89k9u
UN conference seeks final funds for Yemen Safer oil tanker operation
- UN officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen’s coastline was at risk due to tanker’s deterioration
Libya brings in Western traders in blow to Russian fuel flows
- The tenders will further reduce Russian product imports into Libya
- Russian fuel exports to Libya have fallen to around 5,000 bpd in 2026 from 56,000 bpd in 2024–2025
LONDON: Global oil firms and traders including Vitol, Trafigura and TotalEnergies have won tenders to supply Libya with gasoline and diesel as the country grants large Western players wider access and reduces imports of Russian fuel, three trading sources told Reuters.
Libya is in the process of overhauling its oil sector 15 years after the fall of leader Muammar Qaddafi and years of civil wars.
The country produces some 1.4 million barrels a day of crude but lacks the infrastructure to refine it, leaving it reliant on fuel imports.
After issuing upstream licensing rounds for the first time in 20 years in an effort to grow crude output to 2 million bpd, Africa’s second-largest oil producer is now changing how it sells its oil and buys the fuel it requires.
Rather than swapping fuel imports for crude exports, it has instead awarded tenders to cover its fuel needs.
In the tenders in recent weeks, which have not previously been reported, Vitol won the rights to supply 5-10 gasoline cargoes a month and some diesel volumes, three traders familiar with the results said.
Trafigura and TotalEnergies also won the right to supply fuel, two of the three traders said. Reuters could not establish the exact volumes.
Vitol, Trafigura, and TotalEnergies declined to comment. Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the tenders.
RUSSIAN IMPORTS DROPPING
The tenders will further reduce Russian product imports into Libya as Western firms source their volumes from refineries in the Mediterranean.
Russian fuel exports to Libya have fallen to around 5,000 bpd in 2026 from 56,000 bpd in 2024–2025, when it was the dominant supplier, according to live data from global analytics firm Kpler.
Italy has become Libya’s top fuel supplier this year with 59,000 bpd, mainly from the ISAB and Sarroch refineries run by Trafigura and Vitol, the Kpler data showed.
Moscow has relied heavily on Africa, Asia and South America for fuel sales after its refined products were banned from the West under sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has also seen its oil exports to India and Turkiye fall under US pressure, pushing more oil toward China.
Overall fuel exports into Libya from all sources have averaged around 186,000 bpd since the start of 2024.
FIRMS ALSO GAIN ACCESS TO CRUDE EXPORTS
Libya will also change the way it handles crude exports, the sources said.
Swiss-based trading firm BGN, previously a key exporter, will see crude liftings fall sharply, all three traders said, as big Western players will be allocated export rights.
Small Swiss-based trader Transmed Trading also picked up several crude cargoes in January and will keep lifting volumes in coming months, two of the three sources said.
Transmed and BGN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Libya also signed a 25-year oil-development deal with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips in January, involving more than $20 billion in foreign-financed investment.
