By Sami Zaptia.
London, 16 July 2018:
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) lifted the status of force majeure from the El-Feel/Fil (Elephant) oilfield on Thursday. It had been under force majeure since 23 February 2018.
The lifting of force majeure came after the resolution of the dispute caused over the demands of the Fezzan branch of the Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) guarding the oilfield. The NOC announced that the pumping of oil is expected to resume from the field at a rate of 50,000 barrels/day within two days, and a further 72,000 barrels/day within the next three days from the lifting of the force majeure.
The El-Feel field is located in the Murzuq basin, 200 kilometres south-west of Sabha, and operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between Eni Italian company Eni and the NOC.
The NOC said that the negotiations succeeded in ensuring that the PFG, Fazzan branch, went back to their previous positions unconditionally and with complete discipline in their work of protecting the oilfields.
“We are pleased to announce the return of production in the El-Feel field and this will help us quickly reach maximum production levels,” NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said.
