Libya protests halt Wafa oil exports, gas pipeline to Italy

Exports from an oil field in western Libya and a subsea natural gas link to Italy were closed following protests, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest disruptions to the North African country’s energy infrastructure.

The Wafa field’s output of 40,000 to 45,000 barrels a day won’t reach the port of Mellitah for exports after a valve was closed on Sunday, the person said, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public. The oil is being stored at the field’s site, where tanks can hold about seven days of production, they said.

The pipeline to Italy carries about 200 million cubic meters of gas per day, or about 20% of the total output of the fuel of Mellitah Oil & Gas Co., according to the person. 

Protesters shut the Mellitah complex earlier Sunday in a dispute primarily over wages, according to a spokesman for the demonstrators. The group said it also closed access to the El Feel field and Al-Zawiya refinery, where production is still underway. 

If the protests continue, these projects could fully halt and result in a force majeure, a clause in contracts allowing deliveries to be suspended, according to a letter to the government signed by a board member of the state-run National Oil Corp., seen by Bloomberg.

Protests have regularly disrupted output in Libya, including a force majeure last month at the biggest oil field, Sharara.