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Continuation of force majeure and production shutdown at Sharara oilfield
National Oil Corporation (NOC) called on the armed group which had illegally stormed the Sharara oilfield on Monday June 8, 2020 and threatened the corporation’s civilian workers at gunpoint, to withdraw from the field immediately and allow operations and production to be resumed.
After shutting down production, Brigadier General Mohamed Khalifa, commander of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) in the South, retracted his decision and allowed production to be resumed. A few hours later, Ahmed Ibrahim bin Nayel, arrived from Sebha on Monday evening with the armed group the 116th Battalion, under the leadership of Masoud Al Jadi Al-Sulemani .
Ahmed bin Nayel coerced the workers to cease production once again, claiming that he had received instructions to do so.
NOC chairman, Eng. Mustafa Sanalla, said: “It is very clear now to the Libyan people and the international community that it is the armed militias who are behind the blockades. These groups must review their actions and allow the immediate and unconditional resumption of oil production. Failing this, legal action will be taken at both the national and international level. NOC is committed to the rule of law and will not allow the intimidation of workers or any tampering with the oil sector and the country’s oil facilities”. Eng. Sanalla also stressed that the corporation will look for other available options to reopen all its closed facilities across the country if these criminal activities continue.