An unnamed armed group has shut a valve on the pipeline connecting Libya's largest oil field to a key coastal export terminal, causing a significant drop in crude production, the country's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Monday. The closure affects Pipeline 7, which links the El Sharara field in southwestern Libya to the port city of Zawiya, a coastal hub roughly 45 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli that is home to one of the country's main oil export terminals and refineries.
El Sharara, located approximately 700 to 900 kilometres south of Tripoli in Libya's remote southwest, is the country's largest oil field and is operated by Akakus Oil Operations — a joint venture between the NOC and European energy majors Spain's Repsol, France's TotalEnergies, Austria's OMV, and Norway's Equinor. At full capacity, it produces around 350,000 barrels per day, accounting for roughly a third of Libya's total oil output. The NOC warned that if the shutdown continues, it may be forced to declare force majeure — a legal provision allowing suppliers to suspend contractual obligations due to circumstances beyond their control. The corporation previously declared force majeure at El Sharara in January 2024 during a similar closure.
The group responsible has been identified as the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), a body that operates under Libya's defence ministry to protect oil infrastructure. The PFG launched a strike last week demanding better working conditions, higher salaries, and a restructuring that would place the organisation financially and administratively under the NOC rather than the defence ministry. Brief work stoppages at three oil fields occurred earlier in the week before production resumed, but the pipeline closure marks a significant escalation. The NOC has called on the group to reopen the valve, but its appeals have gone unheeded.
The disruption comes at a particularly sensitive moment for global energy markets. Oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel in recent weeks amid shipping disruptions linked to the conflict involving Iran in the Gulf. A large share of Libyan crude is exported to Europe, meaning further supply cuts could add pressure to an already strained international market. The NOC also cautioned that the Zawiya refinery could be forced to shut down if the pipeline remains closed, compounding the economic impact on the Libyan state.
Libya holds Africa's largest proven oil reserves, but has struggled to translate that wealth into stability since the 2011 overthrow of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country remains split between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east backed by military commander General Khalifa Haftar. In this fractured environment, armed groups and protesters routinely use oil infrastructure as leverage to press political or economic demands — a pattern that has repeatedly disrupted output and cost the Libyan state billions in lost revenues.