Residents of Jakheira – a desert community 300km south of Benghazi – blockaded Wintershall’s oil fields in the Sirte Basin on 1 November, shutting in approximately 50,000 b/d of oil from the As-Sarah field that is normally exported from the Zueitina terminal. Following failed attempts by National Oil Corporation (NOC) to lift the blockade, community leaders have threatened to extend the blockade to other major fields such as Arabian Gulf Oil Company’s Nafoora. The dispute threatens to upset the already fragile relations between Wintershall and NOC.
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