“After 72 hours and the loss of approximately $ 3.59 billion, the SPC has decided to declare a state of force majeure” at its facilities in the Gulf of Sirte, the public company said in a statement.
The Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) last Thursday announced $ 3.5 billion in losses due to the forced closure of large oil fields from mid-April and declared a state of “force majeure” on some.
“After 72 hours and the loss of 16 billion Libyan dinars (approximately $ 3.59 billion) and more, the SPC has decided to declare a state of force majeure” at its facilities in the Gulf of Sirte (north), stressed the public enterprise in its announcement.
On Monday, it warned that it would be forced to resort to the declaration of “force majeure” in three days if production and export did not resume at its terminals in the Gulf of Sirte.
Invoking the “state of force majeure” allows the company to breach its contractual obligations, disclaiming any responsibility for their non-fulfillment. as well as at the Al Fil oil field (south) “, clarified the head of the SPC, Mustafa Sanala, according to the company’s press release.
During the administration of the SPD, production fell “sharply” and exports fell by “365,000 and 409,000 barrels per day, ie we have losses of 865,000 barrels per day” compared to the average daily production before the crisis. Added to this is the loss of 220 million cubic meters of gas per day – natural gas is absolutely essential for the supply of the electricity grid.
The sharp decline in gas production is among the causes of the -chronic- power outages that Libya is currently experiencing. Vacations last about twelve hours a day.
Immersed in chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, undermined by east and west conflicts, Libya, the country with the largest hydrocarbon deposits in Africa, remains gripped by an unresolved institutional crisis.
Since March, two governments have been vying for power, one in Tripoli under Abdelhamid Dbaiba, who took office in 2021, and the other in eastern Libya, under Fati Batsaga, backed by General Khalifa Haftar.
Many oil wells and terminals have been forced to shut down since mid-April due to squatting and blockades by groups close to the eastern Libyan government, which are demanding that power be handed over to Mr Batsagas.
SPD leader Sanala warned yesterday against “using the oil sector, which provides livelihoods for Libyans” to exert political pressure.
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