LONDON- Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it was lifting force majeure on Sharara oilfield from Sunday, and a Libyan source said initial output there will be 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), with total production in the country at 355,000 bpd on Monday.
Libyan oil output almost entirely shut down in January when Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which is at war with the Tripoli-based internationally recognised government, blockaded energy exports.
Haftar said last month he was lifting the blockade and NOC restarted output and exports from fields and ports where it says fighters are no longer based.
NOC said in a statement it had given directions to the operator of the Sharara oilfield Acacus to start production arrangements, taking into consideration public safety and process safety standards.
Sharara was producing 300,000 bpd of oil before the blockade. Crude from Sharara will be prioritised to feed the Zawia oil refinery, the Libyan source said.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London, additional reporting by Samar Hassan in Cairo, writing by Angus McDowall in Tunis, editing by Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle) ((Samar.Hassan@thomsonreuters.com;))
