According to Libya’s oil minister Mohamed Aoun, the country’s continuous closure of several oilfields has resulted in a loss of 340,000 barrels of oil production.
According to a tribal leader, the Al-Zawi tribe shut down production on Thursday at the El Feel, Sharara, and 108 oilfields in protest of the kidnapping of the former finance minister Faraj Bumatari.
Libya was producing roughly 1,2 million barrels per day (bpd) prior to the shutdown.
The energy ministry warned in a statement early on Saturday that the shutdown of the three Libyan oil fields might result in the proclamation of force majeure.
“The loss of confidence in the continuity of Libyan oil supply to the global market will result in a loss of market share for Libyan oil and decreased demand for it,” the ministry stated.
A fear about supply unpredictability, it continued, might result in a “irreversible loss of importers” as a result of the oilfield closures.
With a 300,000 bpd capacity, the Sharara field is one of Libya’s main production hubs. Political conflict has frequently been directed against it.
Al-Senussi Al-Ahlaiq, the head of the Zawi tribe, told Reuters that the closure of El Feel was done to put pressure on Tripoli to free Bumatari, who was abducted on Tuesday after arriving at Mitiga airport.
Bumatari’s candidacy for governor of the central bank “makes him vulnerable to danger and kidnapping,” the tribe claimed in a statement.
