The National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya announced the resumption of the El Sharara field – the largest oil field in the country – after lifting the status of “force majeure” on Sunday.
The National Oil Corporation said in a statement that it had given instructions to start production arrangements, after reaching an “honour agreement” under which forces loyal to eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar, would commit to ending all obstacles and ensuring that security breaches don’t occur.
It comes after positive consultations, under the auspices of the United Nations Mission in Libya, which took place last month in the Egyptian city of Hurghada, on the Red Sea coast, which dealt with security arrangements for oil fields and ports.
Abduljalil Mayouf, an oil and gas consultant in the interim government, said the El Sharara oil field would return to production soon, but it would need some routine maintenance before doing so.
El Sharara oil field is Libya’s largest oil field located in the Murzuq Desert, south west of the country. It was discovered in 1980 and developed by OMV Petrom. The oil field is currently operated and owned by Repsol.
The field produces about a third of Libya’s crude oil production, while official estimates say that its reserves amount to nearly three billion barrels of oil, and thus it is considered one of the largest oil fields in the country, next to the El Feel field.
