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.

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.

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.

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.

NOC confirms re-opening of Shahara and El-Feel fields - NATIONAL OIL CORP. LIBYA

20 December 2016
Tripoli 

Libya’s National Oil Corporation confirmed today the reopening of pipelines connecting the Sharara oil field to Zawiya refinery, and the El-Feel oil field to the Mellitah complex. The pipelines had been blockaded at a key valve at the town of Rayayina since November 2014, in the case of the Sharara line, and since April 2015, in the case of the El-Feel line.

“I welcome the statement by the Rayayina Patrols Company of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, Western Branch, announcing lifting of the blockade on all the pipelines" said NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla.

“I want to thank all the parties involved in making this happen,” “Everybody realized that the only route to rebuilding Libya is through cooperation between us as Libyans.”

“There were no payoffs and no backroom deals. For the first time in nearly three years all our oil can flow freely. I hope this marks the end of the use of blockade tactics in our country.”