Armed group shuts valve, halting Libya's Sharara oilfield
Libya's National Oil Corporation says the closure follows an armed group shutting a valve on the pipeline to Zawiya Port
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Map: Africa, marking Zawiya
Libya's National Oil Corporation says output from the Sharara oilfield has plunged after an armed group shut a valve on the crude pipeline that feeds Zawiya Port.
The move takes Sharara offline alongside the Hamada and Al-Tahara fields, which were already shut by the same pipeline closure. That leaves three major Libyan fields out of production at once, removing hundreds of thousands of barrels a day from a market that is already pricing in risk from the Middle East.
A newly announced Chevron deal in Libya offers potential upside over the longer term, but it does not ease the immediate tightness now pushing crude and diesel higher.