Libyan oilfield shuts down amid political standoff over PM

Oil production and exports from Libya’s El Feel field have been halted after protesters gathered at the site and demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

The shutdown of the western field, which produces around 65,000 barrels a day of crude, is the latest in a series of disruptions to hit the Opec member’s oil industry amid a worsening political crisis.

Libya’s crude production has averaged just over 1 million barrels a day this year, down from almost 1.2 million in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The drop is costing the country millions of dollars in lost revenue and comes when the global oil market is already tight, with Brent crude prices having surged above $110 a barrel following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

El Feel is located near Sharara, Libya’s biggest field, and its oil is normally shipped from the ports of Zawiya and Mellitah. It’s unclear if shipments from those terminals, both of which have oil in storage, will be reduced.

The outages come as the North African nation, mired in conflict since the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Al Qaddafi, faces a standoff between rival politicians. Dbeibah is resisting calls from some lawmakers to resign after they declared former interior minister Fathi Bashagha as prime minister in February.

Earlier this month, representatives of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar quit a national military committee that’s meant to ensure a ceasefire holds. They also said Haftar should block oil exports.

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