The MT Equator, a Suezmax tanker chartered by Geneva-based oil trader Vitol SA, arrived in the rebel-held port of Marsa el-Hariga in eastern Libya, aiming to take on up to 1 million bbl of oil for export.

Forces opposed to the rule of Libya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi are poised to begin exports of crude this week, with a Liberia-flagged tanker expected to berth at Tobruk’s export terminal soon.

Libyan rebels say they have forged an agreement with Qatar that will enable them to begin exporting oil and accessing the revenues through an escrow account.

Even though Libya’s oil production is low, the resulting lack of export revenues is not an immediate cause of concern for rebel forces in the country as other sources of money are said to be available.

Even as Allied warplanes continue their bombing campaign against Libya’s ruling regime, the US and the European Union have announced extended sanctions against 14 separate companies owned by Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corp.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s Shiogama Terminal in Sendai, which reopened on Mar. 20, has received its first tanker shipment of much-needed fuel, including 2 million l. of gasoline, light oil, and kerosine.

The unfolding crisis in Japan—the world’s third largest economy and fifth largest energy user—has major implications for both the nuclear and the oil and gas sectors, said industry analysts.

Libya’s government maintained its pressure on international oil companies even as the US government announced its backing of a proposed no-fly zone along with other measures aimed at containing forces loyal to the country’s leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Encana Corp. plans to acquire a 30% interest in the proposed Kitimat LNG export terminal on the west coast of central British Columbia.

The Japanese government, confirming earlier reports, will urge utilities to increase output at fossil fuel-fired electric power plants to boost power shortages after an earthquake and tsunami crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and other facilities.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week formally approved start of operations at the Golden Pass LNG terminal near Sabine Pass, Tex., along with its pipeline.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Mitsui OSK Lines have selected Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp., to build four LNG carriers in China.

Dangerous radiation leaks from four stricken reactors after a tsunami hit Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant last week may be “the death knell” for a pending “nuclear renaissance,” increasing demand for natural gas, residual oil, and coal to fuel electric power generation, said several industry analysts.

Fighting in Libya has nearly stopped the country’s production of oil, reducing output by 1.4 million b/d to less than 300,000 b/d, according to Total SA.