National Oil Corporation (NOC)’s board of directors strongly condemned the crime committed by an armed group on the evening of Monday, June 8, 2020. The armed group, which came from Sebha, stormed the Sharara oilfield and pulled their guns on civilian unarmed workers, coercing them to stop production at the field at dawn on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, only three days after production was resumed.

NOC also confirmed the shutdown of production and declares force majeure on the Sharara field crude oil exports.

NOC considered the acts of this armed group under the so-called Brigadier General Mohamed Khalifa to be a serious crime that amounts to treachery against the Libyan people and the national economy.

NOC also expressed its concern about the breach by this armed group of the strict coronavirus pandemic control program followed in all the facilities of the corporation and considers their entry into the field in this way to be a serious threat to the health of workers.

NOC confirmed that it has informed the Public Prosecutor’s office of this crime and that it will take every possible measure to pursue these criminals at the local and international levels.

The corporation also expressed its total rejection of the presence of any armed personnel inside its facilities in all its sites, any interference in its work, and any attempts to use the Libyan people’s sustenance and only source of living as a political or military bargaining chip.