Tripoli, Jan 11 (AFP\/APP):Production has resumed at four key oil fields in war-torn Libya after a three-week shutdown by gunmen linked to Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guard, the group said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The PFG-affiliated fighters had closed the Sharara, Al-Fil, Al-Wafa and Al-Hamada fields in December over a pay dispute, slashing output from the North African country by over 300,000 barrels per day, according to the National Oil Corporation.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, a PFG official said the sites in southwestern Libya, along with pipelines delivering oil and gas to export terminals on the country’s northwest Mediterranean coast, “are operational again”.<\/p>\n
“The government has listened to our legitimate demands, which were financial and technical in nature,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
“We have been working in difficult conditions for years.”
\nThe official’s comments came a day after PFG representatives met in Tripoli with interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who “ordered the immediate reopening of the fields”, according to a statement from his office.<\/p>\n
Dbeibah also ordered a committee to look into “the difficulties (the PFG) faces in fulfilling its mission”, the statement said.
\nSince the 1970s Libya has depended heavily on revenues from its vast crude reserves.<\/p>\n
But in the decade since the revolt that overthrew and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi, armed groups have frequently blockaded or damaged oil installations.<\/p>\n
The latest shutdown had forced the National Oil Corporation to declare force majeur, a legal move allowing it to free itself from contractual obligations in light of factors beyond its control.<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday it announced “a halt in exports from the Al-Sidra terminal because it is unable to replace storage facilities damaged in fighting”.<\/p>\n
It said stormy weather had prevented oil tankers from loading at the Al-Sidra terminal, meaning existing storage facilities had quickly reached capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tripoli, Jan 11 (AFP\/APP):Production has resumed at four key oil fields in war-torn Libya after a three-week shutdown by gunmen linked to Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guard, the group said Tuesday. The PFG-affiliated fighters had closed the Sharara, Al-Fil, Al-Wafa and Al-Hamada fields in December over […]<\/p>\n
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