Libya’s largest oil field closed as turmoil intensifies
ABC News
Authorities say tribal leaders in southern Libya have shut down the county’s largest oil field — the latest closure of an oil facility amid a bitter standoff between two rival governments
CAIRO -- Tribal leaders in southern Libya shut down the county’s largest oil field, authorities said Monday, the latest closure of an oil facility amid a bitter standoff between two rival governments.
Oil production at the Sharara field has been stopped and the state-run National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at the field, which produces around 450,000 barrels a day. Force majeure is a legal maneuver that enables a company to get out of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances.
The corporation called the shutdown of the field an "absurd move” that mirrors the ongoing standoff in the country. The closure will likely create a fuel crisis in the oil-rich country, as the field is one of the main sources of domestic fuel.
The corporation did not name those people behind the closure, but its announcement came a few hours after tribal leaders in the desert town of Ubari, about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli, said they shut down the field in protest against the government of embattled Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
