Libya’s state oil company National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure late on Saturday at the country’s largest oilfield, El Sharara, after it was shut down the previous day due to a suspected valve closure. The strategic oilfield has been the target of numerous shutdowns by both protesters and armed groups in recent years. Crude oil shipments to the port of Zawiya, some 49 km (30.4 miles) west of Tripoli, have been halted as a result of the closure, the NOC said in a statement. The shutdown caused a loss of about 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production worth an estimated $19 million, it said. Oil output in Libya was reduced to a little over 1 million bpd on Saturday, a NOC official told Reuters. The shutdown of El Sharara […]