The government of eastern Libya announced on Monday that all oil fields in Libya will be closed and production and exports halted, while at the same time the internationally recognized government of the country did not announce anything.
The National Oil Corp (NOC), which controls the country’s oil resources, also did not confirm. However, NOC’s subsidiary Waha Oil Company announced that it plans to gradually cut production and warned of a total production shutdown, citing “protests and pressure”.
Waha, which operates a joint venture with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips, has a production capacity of around 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) exported through the Libyan port of Es Sider. The company operates five major oil fields in the southeast including Waha, which produces more than 100,000 bpd, and Gallo, Al-Fargh, Al-Samah and Al-Dhahra.
Most of Libya’s oil fields are in the east, which is under the control of Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The government in Benghazi did not specify how long the oil fields could be closed. Two engineers from Messla and Abu Attifel told Reuters on Monday that production was continuing and that there had been no order to stop it.
Struggle for supremacy
Libya’s political factions are fighting for control of the central bank and oil revenues. The latest clashes followed an attempt to oust the head of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Sadiq al-Kabir. CBL announced on Monday that it has suspended its operations in the country and abroad “due to exceptional disruptions”.
The Central Bank is the only internationally recognized depository of Libya’s oil revenues, which provide vital economic income for the country. “CBL hopes that its ongoing efforts in cooperation with all relevant authorities will enable it to resume normal activities without further delay,” the bank’s statement said.
Libya, as a major oil producer, is very unstable after the 2011 NATO-backed rebellion. At the beginning of August, due to protests, the NOC declared a state of force majeure at one of the largest oil fields in the country, Shararu, which is located in the southwest of Libya and has a capacity of 300,000 bpd.
Oil production in Libya before the closure of Sharara was about 1.2 million bpd. If production in the east were to stop, the only operational oil field would be El Feel in southwest Libya, which has a capacity of 130,000 bpd, Hina writes.
