Libya’s National Oil Corporation warned that it may have to declare force majeure at the Sharara oilfield if valve No. 7 on the crude pipeline to the Zawiya port remains closed, after an armed group shut it on Monday, cutting output by about 200,000 barrels per day.
Sharp decline in field output
Two engineers working at the field said Sharara’s output had fallen to between 100,000 and 105,000 barrels per day, compared with production capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, leaving the field one of Libya’s largest oilfields.
The corporation said it had contacted «the South-Western Petroleum Facilities Guard and asked it to carry out its duties, but these appeals have produced no results so far. The technical teams have also been unable to reach the area of valves 6-7 to date».
Risks to exports and the Zawiya refinery
The corporation warned that a continued closure could halt production at the Sharara oilfield as well as transport and export operations, reducing state revenues and exposing the oil transportation system and its facilities to technical and operational risks. It could also force the Zawiya oil refinery to shut down.
The corporation called on those who closed the pipeline to reopen it immediately and urgently, saying it might be «forced to declare force majeure if this closure continues».
Repeated shutdowns since 2011
The Sharara oilfield has experienced repeated disruptions in recent years because of protests, political disputes and technical problems, while Libyan oil production has faced repeated shutdowns for political and technical reasons since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
Last week, production at other Libyan oilfields stopped after members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard closed a valve on a major crude oil pipeline, although National Oil Corporation chairman Masoud Suleiman said at the time that the Sharara oilfield was operating normally.
