Libya’s largest oilfield, Sharara, resumed production on Sunday, putting an end to a more than two-week shutdown initiated by protesters over fuel shortages. The National Oil Corp. (NOC) announced the lifting of force majeure in a brief statement, indicating a return to full production without providing specific details. Force majeure, a legal provision, allows a company to suspend its contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances.
The NOC had invoked force majeure on January 7 when protesters from the desert town of Ubari, approximately 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Tripoli, blocked the Sharara oil field in opposition to fuel shortages. Over the past fortnight, negotiations between the NOC’s chief, Farhat Bengdara, and military officials from eastern Libya took place with the Fezzan Group, representing the protesters.
Protesters’ spokesman Barzingi al-Zarrouk declared the suspension of their protest following an agreement reached with the NOC. The deal was reportedly facilitated by the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by powerful military general Khalifa Hifter, whose forces control the eastern and much of the southern regions of Libya.
Sources suggest that the protesters’ demands include the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the repair of roads in the southwestern region of Fezzan, one of Libya’s historic three provinces. This recent disruption follows a two-day closure of the Sharara field by protesters in July.
Libya’s light crude oil has been a focal point in the country’s protracted civil conflict, with rival militias and foreign powers vying for control over Africa’s largest oil reserves. Since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has been in turmoil, marked by a decade-long division between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by militias and foreign governments.
