The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced in the early hours of this morning that production at the Sharara oilfield is continuing despite the pipeline fire that broke yesterday. It refutes some media speculation that production at Sharara has been completely shut down. The NOC explained that the fire was due to a leak in a valve on the crude oil export pipeline from the Sharara oil field near the Bir al-Marhan area (kilometre 538) in Hamada. The NOC indicated in its statement that production at the Sharara field was able to continue despite the fire, after pumping was gradually diverted to the El Feel field pipeline to the Mellitah port, while the remaining portion was diverted via the 18-inch Hamada pipeline to the Zawiya storage tanks. The relevant authorities have immediately launched the necessary investigations to determine the cause of the leak, the NOC added.

Source: Libya Today March 18, 2026 21:04 UTC