Libya Crude Output Rebounds

Libya’s crude production rebounded to more than 700,000 barrels a day as the OPEC member’s biggest oilfield and another deposit in its western region resumed pumping after a halt.

The Sharara field is currently producing 216,400 barrels per day, while the El Feel, or Elephant, deposit is pumping 26,500 bpd and is expected to boost output further, Jadalla Alaokali, a board member at the National Oil Corp (NOC)., told Bloomberg on Sunday by phone.

Crude from Sharara started flowing to the Zawiya refinery after the port of Zawiya reopened last week following a three-week closure. El Feel, idled since April 2015, also restarted last week.

Clashes between armed groups and closures of fields have disrupted output as the country with Africa’s largest crude reserves struggles to revive its most important industry.

Fighting in early March led to the closing of two of Libya’s main oil terminals, forcing a number of fields to stop pumping.

The ports have since reopened. Libya pumped as much as 1.6 million bpd before an uprising in 2011 led to a plunge in output and is currently one of the smallest producers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The pipeline carrying Sharara crude to the Zawiya refinery was blocked in early April just one week after it reopened, halting production at the field. Sharara is operated by a joint venture between the NOC and Repsol SA, Total SA, OMV AG and Statoil ASA.

It has a capacity of 330,000 barrels a day and was pumping 200,000, according to the NOC.

El Feel, operated by a joint venture between Eni SpA and NOC, has a capacity of 90,000 barrels a day. El Feel could not resume production until Sharara was restarted because Sharara helps to supply electricity to El Feel.