Libya's NOC declares force majeure on Sharara after protesters shut oil field

Libya's National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at the Sharara oil field, the country's largest, on Jan. 7 after protesters shut the field, forcing supplies to be halted from the field to the Zawiya export terminal.

Talks are underway to restart production as soon as possible, the NOC said on X, formerly Twitter.

Protesters from the southern Ubari region in recent days have taken to the streets amid anger over high fuel prices and a lack of economic opportunity, S&P Global Commodity Insights has reported. The field has capacity of 300,000 b/d. The nearby 70,000 b/d El-Feel was also shut last week but the NOC statement did not include an update on that field.

One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Jan. 3 that Sharara -- operated by a joint venture between Libya's NOC, Equinor, OMV, Repsol and TotalEnergies – would be forced to stop pumping when its storage tanks filled.

The force majeure on a key Libyan oil grade could have an impact on Mediterranean light sweet crude complex pricing, with Azerbaijan's Azeri Light, Algeria's Saharan Blend and Kazakhstan's CPC Blend likely to see a boost in values.

Libyan crude, which is typically light, low in sulfur and yields a good amount of middle distillates and gasoline, is extremely popular among refineries in the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe. Libya's oil output still remains well below the 1.6 million b/d it was producing before a 2011 uprising in the country. In November, production was 1.12 million b/d, according to the latest monthly OPEC survey by Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.