Petroleum Africa
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Tuesday, March 8, 2022
According to NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla, the illicit closure of crude pumping valves from the Al-Sharara and Al-Feel fields has made it necessary to shut-in 330,000 barrels per day of oil production. The stoppage will result in a loss of more than 160 million Libyan dinars (c. $34.4 million) each day.
Sanalla commented: “We have been informed that a group of suspicious gangs led by Mohammed Al-Bashir Al-Garj shut down the pumping valves of crude thus making it impossible to fulfil our commitments regarding refined products in the oil market. As such, we are obliged to declare the state of force majeure in line with standard practice in the oil industry.”
Sanalla added: “Who benefits from these closures which come after the price jump that exceeded $100 per barrel? The same gang closed these valves between 2014 and 2016 which coincided with a similar price boom. Suspicious links and indications strongly suggest that the closures are driven by hidden hands aiming to drag the country into chaos. A communication has been submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to take deterrent and targeted measures to identify the planners, executors and beneficiaries behind this criminal act of theft and sabotage.”
In a related context Sanalla said: “The challenge of closing was not the most difficult or dangerous for the stability of the oil sector and will end, God willing. But it is all the most painful for Libyans that the parties to sedition hampered production at the time of a global price boom. The next steps must be firm and governed by the criminal legal standard and must be criminally prosecuted by the public prosecutor,”
In conclusion, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NOC said: “For a decade, the oil sector’s infrastructure has been subjected to illegal attacks, including the disruption of production lines and the destruction of surface equipment in full view of all. This is despite the grave economic challenges faced by the country compounded by the interruption of the sector’s access to budgets. We know and understand the weight of the financial anxiety borne by the average citizen. But with the determination of our sons and daughters, we will overcome all these challenges to ensure that the sector regains its activity and vital role.”
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