Libya's Sharara restarts after brief force majeure
The fate of the Sharara field has become entwined with a campaign for better basic services for the inhabitants of southern Libya
Libya’s biggest oil field, Sharara, was briefly shut down by an unidentified group in July, raising the spectre of a return to the frequent protests that saw the field taken offline at intervals over the past four years. The group shut the 290,000 bl/d field on 19 July by closing a valve at Hamada, on the pipeline connecting it with the port of Zawiya. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) briefly declared force majeure for Sharara shipments; but after three days of negotiations the group, which the NOC has not named, agreed to withdraw and the pipeline was reactivated. The stoppage put a brief a dent in Libya's production, which NOC chairman Mustafa Sanallah says stands at 1.2-1.3mn bl/d. Shar
Also in this section
19 March 2026
The regional crisis highlights the undervalued role of fixed pipelines in the age of tanker flexibility
18 March 2026
Rising LNG exports and AI-driven power demand have raised concerns that US gas prices could climb sharply, but analysts say abundant shale supply and continued productivity gains should keep Henry Hub within a range that preserves the competitiveness of US LNG
18 March 2026
Risks of shortages in oil products may cause world leaders to panic and make mistakes instead of letting the market do what it does best
17 March 2026
The crisis in the Middle East has put LNG’s ability to offer security and flexibility under uncomfortable scrutiny
