Libyan crude production recovers as largest oil field restarts
CAIRO - Libyan oil production is set to recover from a five-month low as the North African supplier鈥檚 biggest field restarts following a brief halt.
A valve in the pipeline that carries crude from the Sharara field to the Zawiya refinery has been reopened and tested, said the state-run National Oil Corp. The stoppage occurred Friday night, and authorities lifted a short-lived force majeure on loading Sharara crude at Zawiya on Monday.
Production at Sharara, in Libya鈥檚 southwest, had returned to its normal level later Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information isn鈥檛 yet public.
The field had been producing 290,000 bpd and its shuttering had reduced overall daily production in the country with Africa鈥檚 largest proven oil reserves to about 1 MMbpd, the OPEC member鈥檚 lowest since February.
An oil tanker, Monterey, has been waiting at Zawiya port to load 700,000 bbl once force majeure is lifted, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said before the announcement by the NOC, asking not be identified because he isn鈥檛 authorized to speak to the media.
The NOC condemned the 鈥渁s yet unclaimed deliberate act of sabotage鈥 that had stopped Sharara鈥檚 oil and said authorities were continuing to hunt the perpetrators. Sharara has experienced brief shutdowns in recent years as some of Libya鈥檚 myriad armed groups press political or financial demands.