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NOC, Repsol call for halting armed conflicts in el-Sharara oil field

Head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla and General Manager of the global and integrated energy company Repsol in Libya, Luis Polo Navas, called Saturday for halting armed conflicts at el-Sharara oilfield to resume its production.

During their meeting, they highlighted common trade activities and plans between the company and the NOC, expressing their concern over the safety of the workers at the oilfield.

The situation at Sharara oilfield has become dire, not only due to a force majeure but also due to a competition over the field between Khalifa Haftar, head of the Benghazi based Libyan National Army (LNA) and Faiez Sarraj, head of Government of the National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli.

As part of the military operations in southern Libya, Haftar took control of Sharara on Wednesday to “protect it from the armed conflicts.”

Fearing Haftar’s control over Libya’s biggest oil field and his influence in the southern region, Osama al-Juwaili, head of the western military zone affiliated to the Presidency Council, declared on the same day that a Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) unit that belongs to the GNA was sent to Sharara.

This comes amid the force majeure that the GNA-affiliated NOC imposed on the field and shut down its production of 315,000 barrels per day in December when so-proclaimed Fezzan Anger Movement protested at the field, forcing the Libyan authorities to hear their demands and provide basic needs for the southern region’s citizens.

Haftar criticized the NOC’s stance on Sharara, urging it to lift the force majeure, yet the NOC did not respond to his demand.

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