On Sunday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure on Mellitah crude exports after protesters stormed the El Feel oil field and prevented workers from continuing production.
The NOC said that the El Feel oil field was subjected to arbitrary closure attempts after a group prevented the workers from their work on Saturday evening.
“Production has stopped completely on Sunday, April 17th, 2022, which made the institution’s implementation of its contractual obligations impossible,” the NOC added.
“Accordingly, the NOC is obliged to declare a state of force majeure on Mellitah crude until further notice,” it said.
Notably, Libyan protesters announced the closure of the El Feel Oil Field and the suspension of production and export of oil from the Zueitina oil port, pending the handover of power to the Libyan government headed by Fathi Bashagha.
In two recorded statements, the protesters in Zueitina in the North and in Ubari in the Southwest accused the Government of National Unity (GNU), headed by Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, of corrupting the political scene in Libya and igniting war and division.
The protesters affirmed their support for political stability with the assistance of the Libyan government headed by Fathi Bashagha.
They demanded a fair distribution of oil revenues to all Libyan regions. They also called for the support of the security and military agencies, the cessation of negative external interference, and the respect of Libya’s sovereignty.
The statements called for the dismissal of the Chairman of the NOC, Mustafa Sanalla, and to provide the NOC with the necessary budget to increase production rates.
The protesters accused Sanalla of committing the crime of referring oil revenues to the Al-Dbaiba government, in violation of the decisions of the House of Representatives (HoR).