Libya’s National Oil Company said it had stopped loading crude at a key government-controlled shipping terminal, declaring “force majeure” after a pipeline closure halted operations at its main oil field. The NOC “hereby declares a state of force majeure on crude oil loadings at Zawiya port,” it said in a statement on its website late Saturday. “This is the result of an unlawful Sharara pipeline valve closure by an unidentified group between Hamada and the Zawiya port (on Friday evening), resulting in production being suspended,” it said.
