Prolonged political unrest has shattered Libya’s oil sector since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi during the Arab Spring in 2011. The latest conflict involved the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by beleaguered general Khalifa Belqasim Haftar. The LNA blockaded domestic oil infrastructure, causing production to tumble by more than 90% to around 100,000 bpd.
The opposing parties recently reached an agreement to lift the blockade, which led to an increase in oil production. However, the prolonged shutdown and lack of investment have damaged the infrastructure and put the production return to pre-civil war capacity of 1.6 million bpd in doubt.
The production rate of Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), a subsidiary of Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC), is standing at between 190,000 and 200,000 bpd. AGOCO keeps production at the al-Bayda and Nafoora oil fields shut because of force majeure on Es Sider port, which remains in place. Meanwhile, the Abu Attifel oilfield is expected to begin pumping oil again on October 24.
Libya’s largest oilfield Sharara restarted operations on October 11. The initial production rate at the field stood at around 40,000 bpd. By October 19, the production rates increased to around 50% of its 300,000 bpd capacity. Sharara crude feeds the 120,000 bpd Zawiya oil refinery, while the rest is exported via the Zawiya terminal. Three 600,000-barrel cargoes are scheduled for exports this month.
NOC lifted force majeure on loadings from Marsa El-Hariga and Zuetinia terminals on September 19 and September 22, respectively. Unipec was the first company to load cargo from Marsa El-Hariga, shortly after the force majeure lifting. Meanwhile, loadings from Zuetinia are expected to reach an average of 80,000 bpd in October, shipping sources said.
Libyan oil production and exports are expected to increase further to above 1 million bpd when the operation resumes at Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals in the east, as well as the 70,000-bpd El Feel oilfield.
