Libya’s state run oil company says it may be forced to cease all production if security deteriorates further across the country, after suspected Islamic State militants attacked three oil fields, and the national army bombed an airport in the capital.
Four years after mass protests hastened the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, oil-rich Libya is divided between rival governments, each affiliated with a coalition of militias.
Oil facilities across the country have been targeted by a panoply of armed groups as they compete for territory and resources. Production currently stands at around 400,000 barrels per day, less than half the rate of 1.6 million it produced before Gaddafi’s overthrow.
In a statement on Wednesday night, the National Oil Corporation declared 11 of its oil fields non-operational, opting for a force majeure clause that exempts the state from contractual obligations.
It blamed the Islamist-dominated authorities in Tripoli for failing to protect the oil fields, and warned that it could be forced to shut down production nationwide. » | Louisa Loveluck, Cairo | Thursday, March 05, 2015
