Libya restores full output at major oilfields

Libya has restored full production at the Sharara and El Feel oilfields after repairing the export pipeline disruption that had stopped one of the country’s most important energy corridors, as reported by Reuters on March 30th.

After days in which fire damage, rerouted crude and partial shutdowns exposed the fragility of Libya’s system, the state is now trying to signal that output, infrastructure and export capacity are back under control.

The National Oil Corporation said production resumed fully after maintenance was completed on the crude export pipeline linking Sharara to storage tanks at the Zawiya refinery.

Pumping restarted once repairs were finished and operational safety tests confirmed the line was ready, with technical teams gradually returning output to normal levels.

El Feel had been suspended on March 17th after its pipeline was used to move Sharara crude while Sharara’s own line was out of service. Orders had earlier been given to restart operations at El Feel, confirming that the immediate disruption phase had come to an end.

Sharara is one of Libya’s largest production areas, with capacity of between 300,000 and 320,000 barrels per day, and it is linked to the Zawiya refinery, the country’s largest functioning refinery, with capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

El Feel, under normal conditions, adds another 80,000 to 90,000 barrels per day. Together, the two fields sit at the centre of Libya’s production and revenue structure, which is why even a contained pipeline incident quickly takes on national economic importance.

Security authorities had also previously recovered two exploded projectiles from the damaged Sharara crude pipeline, including an M-62 Russian-made missile and parts of a rocket, suggesting a possible political and military complications.

In that sense, the return to full output is not simply a technical update but an attempt to restore confidence in a sector that remains vulnerable to sabotage, infrastructure stress and the repeated disruptions that have shaped Libyan oil production since 2011.

Reuters, maghrebi.org