Libya’s Oil Union President, Salem Al-Rumihi, asserted in an interview with “Economic Laws” that “the closure of oil fields is a flagrant violation of constitutional rights, safeguarding the Libyan people’s entitlement to their natural resources.”
Al-Rumihi elaborated that the shutdown of the Al-Fil field signifies a loss of approximately 80,000 barrels per day, severely reducing overall production by about 700,000 barrels due to political strife and the imposition of a status quo, using oil as leverage for political or operational gain.
Al-Rumihi explained that such conflicts greatly impact the oil sector, hindering its development and production capabilities.
He suggested that internal or international pressure might need to be applied to maximize benefits.
Additionally, Al-Rumihi called on the United Nations to intervene, protecting Libyans and enforcing a distance between Khalifa Haftar and his supporters from the oil resources critical to the Libyan people.
Libya‘s oil output has nearly halved as production operations have been scaled back due to a deadlock over control of the country’s central bank.
According to sources familiar with the situation, production has fallen by at least 400,000 barrels per day following an order from authorities in the eastern part of the country to halt all production operations.
The production cuts include the Sarir field, managed by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which previously produced 145,000 barrels per day and is now shut down.
Additionally, the oil supply to the Ras Lanuf station has decreased by at least 130,000 barrels per day.
The decision to freeze all production and export activities, announced by the eastern authorities on Monday, comes in response to the internationally recognized government in the West’s decision to replace the central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir.
