Libya’s National Oil Corporation NOC said in a statement released on Sunday that the Sharara oilfield has suspended crude oil supplies to Zawiya terminal. According to NOC a force majeure was declared with immediate effect at its Sharara oilfield due to protests in the area. The Sharara oil field is capable of producing more than 300,000 barrels of light crude oil a day. It produced 308,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) accounting for more than one-quarter of Libya’s total crude output

Libya restarted production at the Sharara field in January 2014, but it remained closed for two years due to the pipeline blockade by armed groups from November 2014 to December 2016. Although it recommenced production in early 2017, it further suffered stoppages a number of times because of localised protests.

The crude oil production from Sharara oil field is sent through a pipeline to the Zawiya oil export terminal and the Zawiya refinery which are located approximately 45km west of Tripoli on the Mediterranean Coast.

The 723km-long, 30in-diameter oil pipeline from Sharara field to Zawiya started operation in 1998. The pipeline is divided into two sections including a 340km-long section from the Sharara field to the Hamada field and a 383km-long section from the Hamada field to Zawiya. The pipeline has a booster station in Hamada.