Page 10 - AfrOil Week 16 2022

AfrOil PERFORMANCE AfrOil

NOC declares force majeure as

protests close main oilfields

LIBYA PROTESTS in Libya once again resulted in the after nearly a decade of turmoil. The oil-rich
shutdown of the country’s biggest oilfield, Sha- country plunged into chaos after a NATO-
rara, in the western part of the country, a devel- backed uprising in 2011, splitting between rival
opment that helped push oil prices up on the governments — one in the east, backed by mil-
international market to more than $113 a barrel itary commander Khalifa Haftar, and another,
on Monday (April 18), Bloomberg reported. UN-supported administration in the capital
Sharara was not the only field affected. Lib- Tripoli, in the west.
ya’s National Oil Corp. (NOC) also saw output In related new, rival Libyan officials con-
from the El Feel field halted. Sharara yields about cluded their meetings in the Egyptian capital
300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, while El Feel Cairo earlier this week without agreement on
pumps 65,000 bpd. the country’s constitutional and legal structure
Meanwhile, other regional producers oper- or on the timing of presidential and parliamen-
ating in the Zueitina, Mellitah, Sarir and Beng- tary elections, according to a statement by the
hazi areas also stopped production in response United Nations (UN) special adviser on Libya,
to continued protests, and two coastal terminals Stephanie Williams.
stopped loading tankers. Libya’s National Oil She added that the officials had agreed to
Corp. (NOC) stopped shipments from the east- reconvene next month to complete discussions.
ern port of Zueitina on Monday, April 18. It did Libya has been in a state of uncertainty over
so after declaring force majeure, which halted the fate of the political process, in the light of
exports from Mellitah. failure to hold presidential and parliamentary
Demonstrations against Prime Minister elections on December 24, 2021, as planned.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah have gained in size over Twelve lawmakers from Libya’s east-
the past few weeks, with protesters calling for his ern-based parliament and 12 from the west-
ouster. Continued protests and instability could ern-based High Council of State sat down this
cut Libya’s oil production, currently estimated at week to achieve consensus on the elections in
1.3mn bpd, by more than 50%. Cairo, with the Egyptian government acting as
Two governments currently exist in Libya. mediator. Cairo had stepped in after UN-spon-
On March 1, the eastern-based Libyan parlia- sored talks for the same purpose had yielded no
ment gave a vote of confidence in the cabinet of positive results.
Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha. The country’s electoral board had postponed
-However, the Tripoli-based High Council of the elections after a parliamentary committee
State contests the legitimacy of this government, tasked with overseeing the process argued it
and Dbeibeh, the head of the interim Govern- would be impossible to hold the vote as origi-
ment of National Unity (GNU), refuses to step nally scheduled, after months of tension over
down. issues that included divisive candidates and a
Libya is trying to form a united government disputed legal framework. ™

Production was interrupted at the Sarir oilfields (Photo: AGOCO)

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