An oil
tanker is due Tuesday in Libya's
rebel-held east, shipping data provider Lloyds List said Monday, which--if
completed--would be the first crude export since the opposition struck a deal
with Qatar.
But a person familiar with the shipping arrangements said it was still unclear
if the ship could reach the port
of Tobruk, where the oil
is supposed to be loaded.
The plan comes after a representative of Libya's
Transitional National Council said Qatar had agreed to market its
crude. On March 27, rebel representative Ali Tarhouni told Agence France-Presse
that exports could resume "in less than a week" following the deal.
Mid-March, the International Energy Agency said that it believed Libyan oil
exports, which averaged 1.3 million barrels a day in 2010, have "ground to
halt" in the wake of fierce fighting around oil facilities.
Monday, the oil town of Brega
was still seeing heavy fighting with rebel forces advancing only to fall back
after an ambush by forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
The person familiar with the tanker said the shipping parties "don't know
the situation" in Tobruk. They "have not received any information
from the agent [in Libya]"
and "don't even know if their office is open," the person said,
adding the tanker--if loaded--is destined for Asia.
The tanker has a dead weight tonnage of 149,997 tons, or 1.1 million barrels,
according to the Equasis database.