BENGHAZI, Libya: Libya’s Sharara oilfield is producing about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd), 100,000 bpd below recent levels, because of security problems, two workers at the field said on Thursday.
They said that a facility about 40km (25 miles) west of the field was shut because of poor security, hindering the recovery of production since the field reopened after a pipeline blockade this month.
Sharara has suffered repeated shutdowns since reopening last December after a two-year closure. The closures have mainly been down to blockades and other action by armed groups.
One partial shutdown in August was caused by security breaches including vehicle thefts, reducing output by at least 130,000 bpd, field workers said at the time.
Sharara’s production is key to a revival in Libya’s oil output, which surged above 1 million bpd in late June, about four times higher than its level last summer.
The National Oil Corporation operates Sharara in partnership with oil companies Repsol, Total, OMV and Statoil.
