Libya’s second-biggest oil field is in the process of shutting as protests disrupt supplies in the North African country.
(Bloomberg) — Libya’s second-biggest oil field is in the process of shutting as protests disrupt supplies in the North African country.
The Sharara deposit in the southwest of the country will gradually halt production, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The shutdown follows a stoppage at Libya’s El Feel field, which was also targeted by protesters.
There was also disruption in Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa. That country’s Forcados oil terminal was stopped so that divers could inspect a possible leak, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Brent crude settled above $81 a barrel Thursday to reach an 11-week high. Libyan oil exports generally go to Spain, Italy and France, so a prolonged disruption could mean more West African crude moving into Northwest Europe, said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth.
The outage comes as signs emerge that supply curbs from Saudi Arabia and Russia are starting to tighten the market, jolting oil futures for their recent torpor.
Sharara and the Waha field, which is further east, pump similar amounts of oil. Before the disruption, Sharara was at about 250,000 to 260,000 barrels a day, and Waha was at about 290,000 barrels a day.
(Adds oil price and quote in fourth and fifth paragraphs. A previous version corrected the spelling of Sharara in second paragraph)
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