Libya’s Oil Production Drops to Around 800,000 Barrels a Day
2022.04.19 16:21
Libya’s Oil Production Drops to Around 800,000 Barrels a Day
(Bloomberg) — Libya’s oil production has fallen by about half a million to 800,000 barrels a day, the lowest in months, as a wave of demonstrations against the prime minister engulfs the OPEC member’s energy industry.
Production fell from about 1.3 million barrels a day on Friday, according to an oil official who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The nation’s biggest oilfield Sharara in the west of the country, which can pump 300,000 barrels a day, was closed on Monday after protesters gathered at the site to demand that Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah quit. That came after the nearby El Feel deposit, with a daily capacity of 65,000 barrels, was halted for the same reason.
State-owned National Oil Corp. formally suspended loadings from the eastern port of Zueitina on Monday and said it was the “start of a painful wave of closures.” The NOC has also declared force majeure — a clause in contracts allowing exports to be stopped — at Mellitah, a western port fed by El Feel. In addition, the Brega terminal was shut on Monday, while protesters are threatening to stop operations at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf.
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