The shutdown of Libya’s oil fields widened on Wednesday, with the Sarir field almost completely halting production, two field engineers told Reuters, amid a political dispute over control of the central bank and oil revenues.
The government in eastern Libya, where most of Libya’s oil fields are located, announced on Monday that all production and exports would be halted, Reuters recalls.
The Sarir field was producing about 209,000 barrels per day (bpd) before production was cut, engineers told Reuters. Force majeure had already been announced for exports from the 300,000 bpd Sharara field, and this week Reuters reported disruptions at the El Feelu, Amal, Nafoora and Abu Attifel fields.
In July, OPEC member Libya produced around 1.18 million barrels of oil per day.
The move to shut down Libya’s main source of revenue came in response to a decision by the Tripoli-based Presidential Council to remove Central Bank of Libya (CBL) governor Sadiq al-Kabir, prompting rival armed factions to mobilize.
Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, installed through a United Nations (UN)-backed process in 2021 and head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, said this week that oil fields should not be allowed to be shut down “under flimsy pretexts”.
On Tuesday, the commander of the United States (U.S.) Africa Command Michael Langley and chargé d’affaires Jeremy Berndt met with Khalifa Haftar, the leader of a force called the Libyan National Army that controls the east and south of the country.
“The U.S. calls on all Libyan stakeholders to constructively engage in dialogue,” with the support of the UN Support Mission in Libya and the international community, the U.S.Embassy in Libya announced on Platform X.
Brent crude was trading at $78.35 a barrel in early afternoon trading in London, down 1.2 percent from the previous day’s close, as worries about Chinese demand and risks of a broader economic slowdown offset worries about possible interruption of oil deliveries from Libya and other countries.
