Khalifa Hafter forces take over Libya's largest oil field

Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, who controls the eastern part of the country, have taken control of Sharara, the country’s largest oil field located in the southwest of the country.

The field, which stopped working in December 2018 following armed demonstrations, is secure and ready to resume production according to Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the Libyan National Army.

The Sharara oil field, the largest in Libya, has a production capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day.

According to one of their spokespersons, Khalifa Haftar’s forces promised to return the refinery to the national unity government based in Tripoli, once rehabilitated.

Libya holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, and the lack of clarity about troop movements and security in the south had cast doubt on the nation’s plan to boost output to 2.1 million barrels a day by the end of 2021.

Libya’s civil war led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in December to exempt it from participating in global production cuts.

AGENCIES