Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared force majeure for Sharara, the country’s largest oil field.

In a statement it said that it had been prevented from carrying out crude oil loading operations at the field and this had subsequently lead to the stoppage of oil exporting operations from the country’s Zawia terminal.

It added: “Based on the provision of force majeure in the Libyan civil code, NOC considers these circumstances out of its control and cannot be prevented”.

NOC said that it was declaring force majeure from 7 August 2024.

It said that the force majeure status would not apply to loading and unloading petroleum production operations.

Production at the field has been disrupted by protesters this month.

Ahead of production being reduced on 5 August, and then subsequently stopping, the field was producing 270,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude.

The field has a maximum capacity of 300,000 barrels a day (b/d).

The shutdown of Sharara occurred after Spain issued an arrest warrant for the son of the Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.

The arrest warrant was issued due to allegations of weapons smuggling.

Saddam Haftar was recently briefly detained at Naples Airport in Italy.

Some news outlets have reported that the latest protests at the Sharara field are related to the issuance of the arrest warrant by Spain.

The Sharara oil field is operated by Akakus, a joint venture of Libyan National Oil Corporation in partnership with Spain’s Repsol, France’s TotalEnergies Repsol, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor.

Frequent shutdowns

Protesters previously shut down the field on 4 January by taking control of the export pipeline used to transport crude to the terminal of Zawiya.

In January, the protests were focused on calls for improved access to cheaper fuel and better job opportunities.

The protests that started on 4 January led to NOC announcing force majeure on 7 January.

Force majeure was subsequently lifted on 21 January when production activities resumed at the field.

The onshore Sharara field has been a frequent target for protesters and armed groups since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.