Libya’s NOC announces reopening of 50,000 barrels per day As-Sarah fields.

Catogory : Market Report

Libya’s National Oil Corporation, NOC, announced on Sunday the reopening of the eastern As-Sarah oil fields, where more than 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in a Wintershall WINT.UL concession had been shut in by a blockade since November.

Two wells started pumping on Sunday and production was expected to reach around 55,000 bpd by Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The NOC said the municipality of the Ajkhara oasis decided to reopen the fields under pressure from the NOC and Libya’s public prosecutor.

The NOC had blamed Wintershall, BASF’s (BASFn.DE) oil and gas subsidiary, for an “unauthorised” shutdown it said had cost Libya more than $281 million.

The NOC had linked the shutdown at As-Sarah to a contract dispute with Wintershall. The dispute stopped output from the company’s Libyan concessions early last year before the two sides reached an interim agreement to resume production.