Ahmad 
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared a state of “force majeure” in the Sharara oil field, as a result of protests in the region.
The “force majeure” of the field, which can produce up to 300,000 barrels per day, will take effect from Sunday.
A statement from the NOC indicated that the closure of the Sharara field led to the interruption of crude oil supplies from the field to the port of Zawiya.
The Sharara field is one of Libya’s largest oil fields and is a frequent target of political protests regionally and nationally.
The field is located in the Murzuq Basin in southeastern Libya and is managed by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in cooperation with Acacus, Spain’s Repsol, France’s Total, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor EQLN.
Negotiations are underway to try to resume production as soon as possible, while protesters in the southern Fezzan region shut down another field last week to protest a lack of public services and development projects.
In this context, the Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas issued a warning of a loss of confidence in the continued supply of Libyan oil to global markets, warning of the serious effects that may result from the closure of oil facilities.
The ministry stressed that the re-operation of these facilities requires time, long effort and high costs that are difficult to bear for the Libyan state.
Production of the Sharara, El Feel and 108 fields was previously halted as a result of tribal protests after the kidnapping of the former finance minister.