Libya Gunmen Shut Two Key Oil Fields, Crushing Hopes of Revival
- El-Feel deposit is halted only a few days after reopening
- Sharara field was forced to stop operating twice on Monday
Drillers work thought the night in El-Sharara, Libya in 2004.
Photographer: Benjamin Lowy/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Two of Libya’s biggest oil fields have been shut down again by gunmen, dashing hopes the war-torn country might revive its energy industry after a five-month halt.
The Sharara field, the nation’s largest, and the El-Feel deposit are offline again following incursions by armed groups. Their shortlived re-opening underscores Libya’s unpredictability as an oil supplier and the fragility of a nascent resumption of exports. The nation has produced little crude since January amid a civil war that’s blocked or shut down almost all of its oil ports and fields.