Updates with NOC statement in paragraphs 2 and 5
Armed militia entered Libya's 300,000 b/d El Sharara oil field last night and forced workers to shut production, according to state-owned NOC.
The field was offline as of 07:00 this morning, according to market sources. NOC said it has placed El Sharara exports back under force majeure, just a day after it lifted those restrictions.
El Sharara resumed output at the weekend following a five-month halt caused by pipeline sabotage. Production reached 30,000 b/d on 6 June and was followed by the restart of the neighbouring 130,000 b/d El Feel field on 7 June. Both fields had been shut in since late January because of valve closures along the Hamada pipeline, which leads to the port of Zawia on the Mediterranean coast.
Libyan sources said a critical valve was reopened on 5 June, following discussions between NOC and Abdulkarim Alrouni, who led tribal factions in Zintan in a recent allegiance with Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA has control over most onshore oil facilities and fields in eastern Libya but does not have a direct military presence in the western region where El Sharara and El Feel are located.
NOC said the militia that seized El Sharara originated from Sebha, in southwest Libya, and was under the command of Mohamed Khalifa, commander of the Southern Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), and of Ahmed Ibrahim bin Nayel. The PFG have been previously affiliated with the LNA.
NOC had hoped that El Sharara could ramp up to full capacity within 90 days of its restart. The current status of El Feel is unclear.
