Libya's largest oilfield and Zawiya refinery hit by blockades
Production at Libya’s largest oilfield has plunged this week, after an armed military group reportedly closed a valve on its export pipeline on Monday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.
IMAGE: An oil barrel with the flag of Libya painted on it. Getty Images
The pipeline carries crude oil from the El Sharara oilfield to the Zawiya port for exports. The oilfield is operated by Libya’s Akakus Oil Operations.
“The closure caused a pressure buildup within the crude oil pipeline, leading to a significant reduction in production at the Sharara field,” NOC said in a statement.
Adding to the disruption, members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard have blocked the gates of the Zawiya Refinery, NOC said.
“As a result, the [Zawiya] facility does not meet the safety and occupational health standards required within the oil sector for the proper and optimal resumption of operations,” the oil company added.
The valve closure has caused a production loss of about 130,000 b/d, which NOC expects to grow if the shutdown persists.
The development compounds ongoing supply anxieties already fuelled by persistent disruptions across the Middle East and eastern Europe.
On Tuesday, NOC said its board was preparing to declare force majeure within hours if the valve was not reopened. It had not announced a declaration by the time of publication.
The El Sharara oilfield produced about 340,000 b/d of crude oil before the incident, according to two analysts from ING Bank.
Libya has faced political turmoil due to disputes over its leadership, forcing NOC to declare a force majeure on key oil producing sites multiple times.
Oil production at El Sharara was restored in January 2024, after protesters shut the field earlier that month.
In 2023, Libya’s El Sharara and El Feel oil fields had to shut down production after the country’s ex-finance minister Faraj Boumtari was abducted.
The OPEC member produced a total of 1.36 million b/d of crude oil last month, according to the group’s monthly oil market report.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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