Armed Group Seizes Libya Oil Pipeline

An armed group in Libya has taken control of a valve on an oil pipeline, disrupting the transportation of crude from the country's largest oil field. Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said oil production at the field had already been reduced and warned that a prolonged disruption could have serious consequences.

The NOC said on Monday that an armed group had closed a valve on the crude oil pipeline linking Libya's Sharara oil field with the western port of Zawiya. The move has led to a sharp decline in production at the country's main oil field.

The incident caused pressure to build up in the crude oil pipeline and significantly reduced production at Sharara. Located in the Murzuq Desert about 800 kilometers south of Tripoli, Sharara is Libya's largest oil field, with production capacity of around 340,000 barrels per day.

The NOC added that technical teams from the southwestern branch of the Petroleum Facilities Guard had been unable to reach the area around the pipeline.

The corporation warned that a prolonged shutdown would halt both production at the Sharara field and the transportation and export of crude oil, reducing state revenues and directly affecting the Libyan economy.

It also warned that the continued disruption could expose the oil transportation system and related facilities to technical and operational risks and force the Zawiya refinery to shut down. This, in turn, would further increase the cost of importing fuel from abroad.

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