The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced in the early hours of this morning that production at the Sharara oilfield is continuing despite the pipeline fire that broke yesterday. It refutes some media speculation that production at Sharara has been completely shut down.
The NOC explained that the fire was due to a leak in a valve on the crude oil export pipeline from the Sharara oil field near the Bir al-Marhan area (kilometre 538) in Hamada.
The statement confirmed that emergency teams handled the incident professionally and that there were no casualties.
The NOC indicated in its statement that production at the Sharara field was able to continue despite the fire, after pumping was gradually diverted to the El Feel field pipeline to the Mellitah port, while the remaining portion was diverted via the 18-inch Hamada pipeline to the Zawiya storage tanks. This significantly reduces losses, it added without indicating any quantities.
The NOC assured that its chairman and members of the Board affirm that they are in continuous session and have been monitoring the situation since the incident began, following the progress of the maintenance teams step by step. The relevant authorities have immediately launched the necessary investigations to determine the cause of the leak, the NOC added.
