NOC Announced The Resumption of Oil Production at One of Libya’s Largest Fields
According to Libya al-Ahrar, the resumption of oil production was made possible thanks to the consent of local residents to leave Ash-Sharare.
The Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the termination of force majeure at one of the largest fields in the country, Al Sharara, and the resumption of oil production there. This is stated in a statement by NOC published on Facebook (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation).
“The National Oil Corporation announces the end of force majeure at the Ash-Sharara field and the resumption of oil production there,” NOC reported. Force majeure was in effect at Al-Sharara for two weeks, from January 7, and oil production was not carried out for almost three weeks.
For its part, the Libyan television channel Libya al-Ahrar reported that the resumption of oil production became possible thanks to the consent of local residents to leave the field. Residents of the Fezzan region in the southwest of the country, who blocked the territory of al-Sharara in early January, announced that they met with the head of the NOC, Farhat Bengdar, and he agreed to meet the demands put forward by the protesters.
On January 3, Reuters reported, citing two sources, that representatives of tribes living in the immediate vicinity of the field launched widespread protest activities, which led to a complete suspension of oil production at al-Sharara. The day before, on January 2, Fezzan residents announced their disagreement with the current state of affairs in the country in the region: they complained of interruptions in the supply of gasoline and gas, insufficiently developed infrastructure, as well as a noticeable increase in smuggling activity. If their demands to improve the quality of life in the region were not met, the protesters threatened to block another major oil field – El Fil.
In July 2023, Ash-Sharara and El-Fil were already forced to suspend their work due to protests by representatives of local tribes who were unhappy with the detention of ex-Finance Minister Faraj Bumatari. Responsibility for taking him into custody was assigned to the Government of National Unity, headed by Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. In addition to blocking the fields, protesters also threatened to block the water supply system that supplies fresh water to the capital, Tripoli, unless the ex-official is released. Butamari was soon released from custody – according to reports, this happened after the personal intervention of the Libyan Prosecutor General.
The Al-Sharara field is located in the southwest of Libya and is one of the largest in the country: its proven reserves are at least 3 billion barrels, and about 300 thousand barrels are produced per day.
