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Force Majeure declared on Sharara crude oil loadings at Zawiya port
National Oil Corporation (NOC) hereby declares a state of force majeure on crude oil loadings at Zawiya port commencing Saturday, July 20, 2019. This is the result of an unlawful Sharara pipeline valve closure by an unidentified group between Hamada and the Zawiya port the previous evening (11:38pm) – thereby resulting in production being suspended. Around 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) has been forced offline (valued at 19 million USD per day) preventing NOC from carrying out crude oil loadings at the terminal.
Any local market fuel deficit as a result of the refinery feed stock shortfall will be offset by international fuel imports, thereby causing additional deficit in the fuel budget. Production at the El Feel oil field near Sharara is unaffected.
NOC has notified commercial partners of this development. NOC’s subsidiary, Akakus Oil Operations, has informed the General Electric Company of Libya (GECOL) that crude oil supply to the Obari power station will cease following this production interruption. Supply from Sharara to the Obari power plant requires the transfer of a continuous amount of crude to production plant (A)’s storage tank – which is currently full.
NOC Chairman Eng. Mustafa Sanalla said: “Criminal activity has required NOC to declare Force Majeure at Zawiya. Deliberate attempts to sabotage pipelines and production hurt both national oil revenues and critical power supply for everyday Libyans. Akakus security personnel and engineers are investigating the incident and working to quickly restore production. The corporation, in partnership with relevant authorities, will find and prosecute those responsible for this unnecessary interruption.”
July 20, 2019
Tripoli