(Bloomberg) — Libya’s biggest oilfield is gradually resuming production after a five-month shutdown as regional powers push to end the country’s civil war.The restart of the Sharara field in the southwest comes after a valve on a pipeline running to the port of Zawiya was opened on Friday, according to Ali El-Zeeb, the commander of the petroleum-facilities guards aligned with Libya’s internationally recognized government. Sharara was producing around 300,000 barrels a day before it shut in mid-January amid an offensive by Khalifa Haftar, who leads a rival military force based in the country’s east.The field’s resumption follows setbacks in recent weeks for Haftar’s forces. They’ve lost strongholds in western Libya after battling for more than a year to seize the capital, Tripoli, from the United Nations-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj. Haftar accepted an Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire over the weekend.His supporters have blockaded major oil fields and ports since January, cutting output in the North African nation from as much as 1.2 million barrels a day to just 90,000 barrels. Libya holds Africa’s largest proven crude reserves, and the collapse in its production has had the inadvertent effect of helping the OPEC+ alliance prop up oil prices following a rout in March and April.Sharara is run as a joint venture between Libya’s National Oil Corp. and Total SA, Repsol SA, OMV AG and Equinor ASA.The cease-fire and an initiative to permanently end hostilities were announced Saturday at a ceremony in Cairo that Haftar, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Libyan parliament speaker Aguileh Saleh all attended. It’s not clear whether the Tripoli government will accept the cease-fire now they have the upper hand on the battlefield.(Updates throughout.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
