News wire — Oil production at Libya’s Sharara field, one of the country’s largest production areas has been reduced by 60,000 barrels a day, or about 20% of its capacity, due to ongoing protests in the area, two field engineers said on Monday.
The field located in southwestern Libya and operated by a joint venture of Libya’s state firm National Oil Corporation (NOC) with Spain’s Repsol, France’s TotalEnergies, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equino has been a frequent target of local protesters.
“We expect a change at any moment, either a return to full production or a full shutdown,” one of the engineers told Reuters.
Reuters reported during the weekend that local protesters partially shut down the field, which the Libyan government described as “political blackmail”.
Earlier on Monday, OMV said production at the field was reduced from 4 p.m. local time on Sunday and the reduction was extended on Monday. The cause was unknown, it added in an emailed response to Reuters.
A video posted on Monday by Libyan television channel Almasar on X showed a man, flanked by several protesters, threatening a full shutdown of the field if demands are not met. He identified the group as residents of Libya’s southwestern Wadi Al-Hayaa district, part of the Fezzan region.
In January, Sharara was shutdown by a group of local protesters from the so-called Fezzan Anger Movement demanding development projects. Fezzan is the southern region of Libya.
Libya’s NOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Libya’s oil output has been disrupted repeatedly in the chaotic decade since the country divided in 2014 between two administrations in its east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
According to Bloomberg, production was completely halted on Monday.
Reporting by Ayman Al-Warfali in Benghazi, Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna; writing by Yousef Saba; editing by Rachel More, Ludwig Burger and Tomasz Janowski – Reuters
