Libya to resume crude oil production at two of its major fields

CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s state-run oil company said Thursday it was restarting full oil production, almost two months after shutting down operations in two of its major fields amid a political crisis.

The National Oil Corporation said in a statement that it would resume production at the Sharara and El-Feel oil fields, and export shipments from Es Sider, the country’s largest port. In August, the company declared “force majeure,” a legal maneuver that lets a company get out of its contracts because of extraordinary circumstances.

“As part of continuing review of the force majeure situation, we have recently received a formal security assessment concerning Sharara, El-Feel and Essider, which confirms that NOC can resume the operations of crude oil production and exporting operations to its customers,” the statement read.

The National Oil Corporation previously blamed the shutdown on the Fezzan Movement, a local protest group. However, Libyan local media reported that the suspension was placed due to retaliation by military commander Khalifa Hifter against a Spanish company that partially operates the Sharara field for an arrest warrant issued by Spanish authorities accusing him of arms smuggling.

Most recently, the divided country has been thrown again into crisis by a dispute over the governance of its Central Bank. In August, the U.N. warned that the country was poised to face even greater instability.

But that was resolved in recent days, when the country’s parliament appointed a new governor to the bank.

Libya produces more than 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, and Sharara is the country’s largest field, producing up to 300,000 barrels per day.

The oil-rich country has been in political turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Since then, Libya has been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by militias and foreign governments.

The Associated Press