Two more oilfields in Libya are being closed after an armed group took over pipelines to both deposits, further disrupting the OPEC nation’s plan to boost crude production.
El Feel, or Elephant, stopped production, Wessam al-Messmari, an office manager for the Petroleum Facilities Guard that is protecting the field, said on Sunday by phone.
State-run National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at the deposit, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information is not public, Bloomberg reported. Hamada Oilfield will gradually stop pumping through Monday because of the pipeline closing, Arabian Gulf Oil Company Spokesman Omran al-Zwai said on Sunday.
"Force majeure was also declared on Hamada," he added.
An armed group closed the pipelines to Hamada and El Feel, according to a person familiar with the situation. Libya revived its oil production and exports before the recent disruptions. In July, crude production was at a four-year high and exports were the most in three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While the expansion has helped Libya’s oil-dependent economy, OPEC is trying to cut global supplies. That effort has been undermined by recovering output at OPEC members Libya and Nigeria.
Libya’s biggest field, Sharara, has been shut for about a week after an armed group closed the pipeline that linked the deposit to an export terminal, Al-Messmari said at the time. The field is still not pumping, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
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