Largest Libyan oilfield ready to restart
CAIRO and AJDABIYA (Bloomberg) -- Forces loyal to Libya鈥檚 eastern leader Khalifa Haftar have taken control of the country鈥檚 biggest oil field and say the deposit is secure and ready to resume production.聽
Haftar鈥檚 self-styled Libyan National Army fanned out in the southwestern Sharara field, people with knowledge of the matter confirmed. Armed protesters had closed down the 300,000-bpd deposit in December, demanding more money and investment in the remote region.
鈥淪harara is completely secure and ready to resume pumping,鈥 LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said Tuesday in a telephone interview. 鈥淭he guards at the field handed over the field to our forces peacefully.鈥
The LNA had pledged earlier to hand the field over to the National Oil Corp once it was fully secured. 鈥淩estarting production is the jurisdiction of the Tripoli-based NOC,鈥 al-Mismari said. There was no immediate comment from the NOC. It wasn鈥檛 immediately possible to verify the specific locations of various forces in the area of the field.
Largest Reserves
Libya holds Africa鈥檚 largest crude reserves, and the lack of clarity about troop movements and security in the south had cast doubt on the nation鈥檚 plan to boost output to 2.1 MMbpd by the end of 2021. Libya鈥檚 internal turmoil led OPEC in December to exempt it from participating in global production cuts.
Al-Mismari said earlier that Haftar鈥檚 forces had entered the main oil-producing area of Sharara without a fight, days after arriving at substation unit NC-186, about 19 mi away. "It was a non-violent operation with no weapons used,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll the oil installations are sound and undamaged."
The LNA, Libya鈥檚 largest and best-organized military force, already controls the so-called oil crescent, a coastal area containing the major exporting terminals. Its push southward toward Sharara has stoked fears among Haftar鈥檚 foes and increased concern in the oil market about the stability of supply.
The LNA has called on the NOC to lift the force majeure in place at Sharara, a joint venture between the NOC, Repsol, Total, OMV and Equinor, Force majeure is a legal status protecting a party from liability if it can鈥檛 fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control. The NOC hasn鈥檛 yet issued instructions to restart production at the field.