The El Sharara, El Feel, Hamada and Wafa fields were shut down on 20 December by a faction of the PFG, which typically protects the assets of state-owned NOC. Libyan production fell below 800,000 b/d as a result of these outages.
Flows of the Mellitah oil blend — a result of commingling El Feel output and Wafa condensate — are also likely to resume, one of the sources said. Argus assessed average Libyan crude production near 1.12mn b/d in November, prior to the shutdowns.
The exact timeframe for the restart of El Sharara is uncertain, amid ongoing port shutdowns. Poor weather conditions have paralysed loadings at all Libyan ports today, with unfavourable loading conditions expected to persist over the week.
NOC has yet to lift force majeure (FM) restrictions on crude loadings from the Zawia and Mellitah terminals, according to shipping and trade sources.
