DUBAI: Libya’s Mabruk Oil Operations has resumed production at the Mabruk oilfield after a decade-long shutdown, the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Production officially restarted on Sunday at an initial rate of 5,000 barrels per day, according to the statement, with plans for an increase to 7,000 bpd by the end of March and 25,000 bpd by July.
Crude began to be transferred to the nearby Al-Bahi field on Tuesday as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of the country’s oil infrastructure and operations.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) had said it planned to reopen the Mabruk oilfield in the first quarter of 2023 with production up to 25,000 barrels per day.
The field had been closed in 2015 after what NOC described as a “terrorist” attack that cost the company $575 million in field equipment losses.
Libya, holding Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, has struggled to maintain consistent output levels due to internal conflicts and infrastructure damage since 2011.
“This marks a significant step forward in Libya’s oil sector, reflecting improved stability and confidence in our capacity to rebuild and boost the national economy,” Wednesday’s statement said.
Oil production resumes at Libya’s Mabruk field after a decade
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Oil production resumes at Libya’s Mabruk field after a decade
- Production officially restarted on Sunday at an initial rate of 5,000 barrels per day
- Crude began to be transferred to the nearby Al-Bahi field
Hundreds mourn in Syria’s Homs after deadly mosque bombing
- Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect
HOMS: Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday despite rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs where a bombing the day before killed eight people and wounded 18.
The crowd gathered next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the population is predominantly from the Alawite minority, before driving in convoys to bury the victims.
Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (“father of Ahmad“) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a “very very strong explosion.”
He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out of it, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded, amid blood and scattered body parts on the floor.
While the neighborhood is primarily Alawite, he said the mosque had always been open to members of all sects to pray.
“It’s the house of God,” he said. “The mosque’s door is open to everyone. No one ever asked questions. Whoever wants to enter can enter.”
Mourners were unable to enter the mosque to pray Saturday because the crime scene remained cordoned off, so they prayed outside.
Some then marched through the streets chanting “Ya Ali,” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.
