Libya.. National Oil Corporation Announces Closure of Crude Oil Pipeline by Armed Group and Hints at "Force Majeure"

It added that the closure caused a rise in pressure on the crude oil pipeline, leading to a "significant reduction in the production of the Sharara field".

The field, located in the Marzuq desert (800 km south of Tripoli), is the most important in the country with an average production of 340,000 barrels per day, knowing that Libya depends on petroleum exports to finance its general budget by about 90 percent, according to the Anadolu Agency correspondent.

The Corporation explained that it had contacted the Southwestern Oil Facilities Guard and asked it to fulfill its duties, noting that these appeals "have not yielded any results so far", while the technical teams were unable to reach the area of valves 6 and 7.

It warned that the continued closure would lead to the cessation of production at the Sharara field and the transportation and export of oil, which would directly harm the national economy through a decline in the state's general revenues, especially with the rise in global oil prices.

It also warned of exposing the oil transportation system and its facilities to technical and operational risks, expecting that the closure would lead to the shutdown of the Zawiyah oil refinery, which would increase the bill for importing fuels from abroad.

The Corporation called on the unidentified line closers to "exercise reason, show wisdom, and prioritize the interest of the nation over narrow interests and work to open the line immediately and urgently".

It also called on the competent authorities "to assume their responsibilities towards securing and protecting oil sites and keeping them away from any form of protest or demonstration".

The Corporation said it "may be forced to declare a Force Majeure if this closure continues".

The "Force Majeure" is a legal situation in the oil sector that exempts the contracting parties from the penalties resulting from non-fulfillment of contracts due to an "inevitable circumstance" beyond the control of the parties.

The Libyan Oil Corporation had announced, on Tuesday, that "a group of oil facility guards (oil security guards) illegally closed the valve of the main oil shipping line (Hamada - Zawiyah)."

The field is located in the Hamada Al-Hamra area within the Ghadames Basin in western Libya (400 kilometers south of Tripoli) and is one of the vital oil and natural gas fields in the western region, producing around 700 barrels per day.

For some time, the oil facility guards have been demanding an increase in their monthly salaries as part of a wave of similar protests in several sectors in Libya.