Libya’s two key western oil fields — El Feel and Sharara — have been closed again shortly after reopening, showing the extent to which they remain hostage to armed groups as the country’s civil conflict continues to escalate.

State-owned National Oil Corporation said the 75,000 b/d El Feel field had been shut June 10 after an armed group occupied the field.

The recent stop and start events underscore the fragility of the country’s much anticipated return to export markets.

More disruptions likely
S&P Global Platts Analytics said recent events showed Libya’s potential restart of up to 400,000 b/d from southwestern fields faced many risks, and sporadic disruptions were likely to persist.

“Eastern general Khalifa Haftar could regroup with greater backing from the UAE, Egypt, and Russia, while Libyan production dynamics over the past few years indicate regional militias will likely continue to at least sporadically disrupt the fields and connected pipelines,” said Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical adviser at Platts Analytics.

Hamish Kinnear, a MENA analyst at Verisk Maplecroft said the struggle and rapidly changing situation at the fields reflected the wider fluidity of the civil war.

Libya’s potential return to export markets with up to 400,000 b/d of mainly Es Sider and Sharara grade crudes comes as its partners in OPEC and their allies agreed on extending production cuts to cuts through July, to help bolster the market as it emerges from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite recent military gains by the GNA, the LNA still controls the eastern terminals of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega, Zueitina and Marsa el Hariga. That means some two-thirds of Libyan crude, or around 800,000 b/d, remains offline.