Libya’s El Sharara oil field shut - ARGUS

20 December 2021
Ruxandra Iordache

Libya's state-owned oil firm NOC has declared force majeure on crude exports from two ports in the west of the country after output from three fields was shut down earlier today.

Libya's largest oil field — the 300,000 b/d El Sharara field — was shut by the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), which protects state-owned NOC's assets, trading and Libya-based sources said.

El Sharara is operated by Akakus Oil, a joint venture between NOC, Spain's Repsol, Austria's OMV, Norway's Equinor and TotalEnergies. The PFG is protesting against NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla's attempt to remove Ahmed Ammar from Akakus Oil's management team, according to one of the sources. Output from El Sharara is prioritised for the 120,000 b/d Zawia refinery. The remaining volumes are exported from the nearby Zawia terminal.

Libya: Tribesmen Say They Have Closed Shahara, el-Feel Oilfields - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT

Sunday, 19 January, 2020 - 15:00

A group representing southern Libyan tribesmen said on Sunday it had closed the southern El ShaRara and El Feel oilfields, virtually halting all of Libya’s oil output during a major international peace summit for Libya in Berlin.

The leader of the Fezzan Anger group, Bashir al-Sheikh said they had shut two fields, just two days after other fields in the east of the country were also shut.

El Sharara has production of abound 300,000 bpd and El Feel produces some 70,000 bpd.

A field engineer reached by telephone said a valve from the field had been closed.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) has earlier warned that any shutdowns could have a lasting impact.

NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said earlier on Friday: “The oil and gas sector is the lifeblood of the Libyan economy and the single source of income for the Libyan people ... They are not cards to be played to solve political matters.”

Libya’s El-Sharara oilfield shut down: NOC - MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

July 20, 2019 at 8:19 pm

Libya’s El-Sharara oilfield has been shut down, the country’s state oil firm confirmed on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it has launched an investigation into suspected valve closure in the Hamada area in western Libya.

It, however, said production from the nearby El Feel oilfield had not been affected by the incident.

El-Sharara oilfield produces more than 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, forming roughly one-third of the oil-rich country’s production.

Libya holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, but eight years of conflict and violence in the country since the 2011 ouster of ruler Muammar Gaddafi have hobbled production and exports.

Libyan oil revenue dips to $2.4 billion in November: NOC - REUTERS

DECEMBER 28, 2018 / 11:20 AM

DUBAI (Reuters) - Libya’s oil and gas revenue dipped to $2.4 billion in November from $2.87 billion in October, but full-year revenue is expected to surge by 76 percent to $24.2 billion, state oil firm NOC said on Friday.

Although lower than the previous month, November revenue was the third highest monthly figure in 2018, NOC said.

Despite recurrent security problems that have affected output from Libyan oilfields, NOC’s revenue has been boosted this year by higher oil prices and production.

Libya currently produces about 1.15 million barrels per day of oil.

“NOC will continue to drive the economic recovery and provide the funds necessary to ensure a fair distribution of wealth and economic justice across the country,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement.

Security Issues Continue to Plague Libya's Oil-Supply Growth - RIGZONE / BLOOMBERG

Wednesday, July 18, 2018Salma El Wardany

(Bloomberg) -- Just as Libya resumes oil exports from recently shuttered ports, an attack on its largest field is setting back progress yet again.

An incursion by gunmen into the Sharara field on Saturday and the kidnapping of workers there forced the National Oil Corp. to cut production and put a ban on exports. It’s the latest in a string of security incidents that have hobbled Libyan shipments despite repeated attempts to restore flows in the politically divided nation.

“This incident required us to shut down and evacuate a number of stations,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement. The kidnappers released two of the four abducted workers later the same day but still hold two others.

Libya's new power plant to cut Sharara oil exports by 50,000 bpd - HYDROCARBON PROCESSING / REUTERS

NOV/10/2017

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar Editing by David Evans, Greg Mahlich

LONDON (Reuters) — Libya’s new Ubari gas-fired power station will initially run on up to 50,000 bpd of Sharara crude oil when it starts up in around two weeks, slashing exports from Libya’s biggest oilfield, a Libyan oil industry source said on Thursday.

The plant, if it starts on time, will initially consume 30,000 bpd of crude oil before ramping up to around 50,000 bpd, he said, declining to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Libya will consider running the plant on feedstock other than crude in the future, as the country faces a severe shortage of electricity especially during peak winter demand, the source said.

Production at Sharara is stabilizing at around 300,000 bpd and the OPEC member’s National Oil Corp is trying to restore production to its full capacity of 340,000 bpd, another Libyan oil industry source said last week.

Libyan Oil Output Is Set to Rebound as Biggest Field Restarts - RIGZONE / BLOOMBERG

Wednesday, October 04, 2017Salma El Wardany & Saleh Sarrar

(Bloomberg) -- Libya’s oil output, hampered by sporadic shutdowns at fields and ports, is on track to resume its recovery as the OPEC nation’s biggest crude deposit started pumping after a three-day forced halt.

The Sharara field re-opened on Wednesday and is restoring production, the state producer National Oil Corp. said on its website. NOC lifted force majeure at the field as of Wednesday and is able to resume delivering Sharara crude to customers, it said in an emailed statement. NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said Monday on Libya TV that the nation’s daily output will reach 1 million barrels within days of the field’s re-opening.

Libya's oil disruptions widen as two more fields halt output - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

AUGUST/27/2017
SALMA EL WARDANY & HATEM MOHAREB

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Two more oil fields in Libya are being closed after an armed group took over pipelines to both deposits, further disrupting the OPEC nation’s plan to boost crude production.

El Feel, or Elephant, stopped production, Wessam Al-Messmari, an office manager for the Petroleum Facilities Guard that is protecting the field, said Sunday by phone. State-run National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at the deposit, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

The Hamada oil field will gradually stop pumping through Monday because of the pipeline closing, Arabian Gulf Oil Co. spokesman Omran al-Zwai said Sunday. Force majeure was also declared on Hamada, he said. Force majeure is a legal clause protecting a party from liability if it can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control. An armed group closed the pipelines to Hamada and El Feel, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Libya Gets Better at Keeping Oil Flowing as Industry Stabilizes - RIGZONE / BLOOMBERG

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Salma El Wardany

Libya's getting better at resolving stoppages in its oil industry, underpinning a growing perception that the OPEC member is closer to becoming a stable producer again.
(Bloomberg) -- Libya’s getting better at resolving stoppages in its oil industry, underpinning a growing perception that the OPEC member is closer to becoming a stable producer again.

That’s because of the duration of the incidents. While in prior years protests could shutter fields for months and years, now the stoppages are being resolved within days and barely hindering flows. Sharara, Libya’s biggest field, had several short disruptions this year, including two this month, after being closed for more than two years. Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of state-run National Oil Corp., was quick to visit Sharara this week to resolve the latest dispute, offering to revise security measures.

Libya's largest oil field "back to normal" after disruption - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

AUG/7/2017

By SALMA EL WARDANY AND SALEH SARRAR 

CAIRO and DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s biggest oil field Sharara is “back to normal” after a disruption caused by protests, the country’s National Oil Corp. said.

Pumping was interrupted for “hours” due to armed protesters shutting some facilities, the NOC said Monday in a statement. NOC didn’t give an updated figure on production at the field or explain what caused the protests or who they represent. The field in western Libya was producing 275,000 bpd as of July 12, a person with knowledge of the situation said at the time.

Sharara, operated by a joint venture between Libya’s state producer and Repsol SA, Total SA, OMV AG and Statoil ASA, has witnessed several brief shut downs caused by different groups. The field was closed for two days in June due to a protest by workers at the field.

Libya's Sharara oil field gradually shutting down: engineer - REUTERS

A general view of the El Sharara oilfield, Libya December 3, 2014.
Photo by Ismail Zitouny

AUGUST 7, 2017 / 4:37 AM

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's Sharara oilfield, which has been producing 270,000 barrels a day (bpd), is gradually shutting down after the closure of a control room in the northern city of Zawiya, an engineer at the field said late on Sunday.

The engineer did not give details of why the control room had closed but posts by oil workers on Facebook said it had been stormed by an armed group.

Libya has been exempted from an OPEC-led push to cut global production and bolster oil prices and the recovery of the North African country's output over the past year has complicated the bloc's efforts to curb global supply.

Sanalla Pays Visit to Al Sharara - PETROLEUM AFRICA

Friday, June 30, 2017

The chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp. (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, paid a visit to the Al Sharara oilfield recently where he met with safety and security officials from the field. The Al Sharara is the oil field where an employee drowned in the swimming pool in early June.

Sanalla extended his deepest condolences on the death of Ibrahim Abu Grasa and told workers he was there to listen to the problems of the workers and check on their conditions at the field.

The NOC chairman also paid a visit to the field’s production units, Contract Area No. 186, Early Production Area, Contract Area No. 115 and the requisite facilities where he listened to detailed explanations on the work progress. In addition he discussed with workers the problems and difficulties that they were facing in their efforts to maintain or increase production rates.

Sanalla promised to continue working hard in order to mitigate the difficulties that were discussed in spite of the difficult financial circumstances of the oil sector. The delegation also visited the accommodation of the guards and looked at the living conditions of the individuals assigned to guard the field which have to be improved.

Libyan crude gushes into tankers as nation's output accelerates - WORLD OIL

JUNE/28/2017
RUPERT ROWLING

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Libyan oil shipments are poised to hit their highest level in at least three years in the latest sign the North African country is managing to sustain a production revival.

Exports are on course to reach about 715,000 bpd this month, the most since July 2014, when Bloomberg began monitoring Libyan shipments, tanker-tracking data show. With relatively limited capacity to process that crude in its domestic refineries, the shipments have been moving in lock-step with production.

Libya’s surging output is a key factor helping to undermine the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ efforts to reduce global supply and increase oil prices. The group met last week in Vienna to discuss how to deal with rising production in Libya and Nigeria -- both OPEC nations exempt from supply curbs -- rather than deepening output cuts by other members. U.S. production climbing to the highest since August 2015 has further derailed OPEC’s efforts.

Recovery of Libya’s largest oil field boosts OPEC country's output - WORLD OIL

5/31/2017
Hatem Mohareb, Saleh Sarrar, Salma El Wardany

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s biggest oil field boosted production, allowing the OPEC nation to pump crude at the highest level since October 2014.

Crude from Sharara field rose by 25,000 bpd to 250,000 bbl, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. Libya’s output rose to 827,000 bpd after the increase in output from Sharara, Mustafa Sanalla, head of the state-run National Oil Corp., said in a text message.

The revival in Libyan crude production comes after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied suppliers agreed on May 25 to extend a deal to cut production to battle a global oversupply until the end of March. The recent increase in Libyan output may undercut OPEC’s strategy to re-balance the market and prop up prices.

OPEC's burden grows, as Libyan output reaches highest mark since 2014 - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

5/8/2017

Salma El Wardany 

CAIRO (Bloomberg) -- Libya is pumping the most oil since October 2014 as the OPEC member restores output amid progress in mending the nation’s political divisions. The increase adds pressure on the world’s biggest producers who just signaled they may extend production cuts as oil slumps.

The North African country’s production has reached about 780,000 bpd, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified for lack of authorization to speak to the media. Libya was producing about 700,000 bpd at the end of April, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at state producer the National Oil Corp., said then.

Libya's Oil Output Rebounds as Sharara, El Feel Fields Restarted - BLOOMBERG

30 April 2017, 1:51pm EEST
Salma El Wardany

• OPEC member pumping more than 700,000 barrels a day: Alaokali
• Biggest field Sharara at 216,400 barrels daily after restart

Libya’s crude production rebounded to more than 700,000 barrels a day as the OPEC member’s biggest oil field and another deposit in its western region resumed pumping after a halt.

The Sharara field is currently producing 216,400 barrels a day, while the El Feel, or Elephant, deposit is pumping 26,500 and is expected to boost output further, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at the National Oil Corp., said Sunday by phone. Crude from Sharara started flowing to the Zawiya refinery after the port of Zawiya re-opened last week following a three-week closure. El Feel, idled since April 2015, also restarted last week.

Oil slides to one-month low as Libya restarts Sharara field - WORLD OIL

4/27/2017JESSICA SUMMERS & MARK SHENK

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Oil declined to a one-month low as Libya reopened its biggest field and as the market weighs increases in U.S. product inventories and crude output.

Futures fell as much as 2.9% in New York. Crude from the Sharara field in Libya has started flowing to the Zawiya refinery, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Both U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose by the most since January last week, according to an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. Nationwide crude output is at the highest level since August 2015.

NOC: Libya's Wafa Oil And Gas Field Reopens, Force Majeure Lifted - RIGZONE / REUTERS

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Reporting: Ahmed Elumami; Writing: Aidan Lewis, Patrick Markey; Editing: Susan Thomas

TRIPOLI, April 12 (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has lifted force majeure on production from the Wafa field after an armed group reopened oil and gas pipelines leading to the Mellitah terminal, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Production of oil, gas and condensates had been interrupted at Wafa by a shutdown that started on March 26 near the town of Nalut. Wafa is operated by Mellitah Oil Co, a joint venture between NOC and Italy's ENI.

The reopening would allow Mellitah to restore production of about 450 million cubic feet of gas, 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, and 7,500 bpd of condensate, NOC said.

Libya halts Sharara oil loadings as biggest field stops pumping - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

April/10/2017

Salma Alma El Wardany and Saleh Sarrar

CAIRO and DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Libya’s biggest oil field stopped producing just one week after it reopened, forcing the OPEC member to declare force majeure at a key export terminal, the latest disruptions to the country’s output and shipments of crude.

The pipeline carrying crude from Sharara, Libya’s biggest field, to the Zawiya refinery stopped operating on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media. It wasn’t clear why the pipeline was shut. The National Oil Corp. declared force majeure on loadings of Sharara crude from the Zawiya oil terminal, citing a halt in production at the field, according to a copy of the NOC’s decree obtained by Bloomberg.

Egyptian oil and energy sector to reestablish work in Libya - LIBYAN EXPRESS

Thursday 6 April 2017

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and energy sector construction company Petrojet plan to reestablish their presence in Libya, a Libyan official said yesterday, after a meeting with company representatives that also included the chair of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanallah.

NOC and EGPC also agreed to form a partnership to study possible oil and gas projects, although no further details were provided, OilPRice reported.

A meeting took place between the Egyptian officials and the Libyan ones headed by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Council, Ahmed Mitig.