Libya’s giant Sharara oilfield is producing 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the restart of a control station that had been closed due to the kidnapping of two workers, an engineer at the field said on Wednesday.

Station 186 was restarted on Sunday amid tightened security, and was producing about 50,000 bpd, around half its normal capacity.

The abduction last month of two workers, one Libyan and one Romanian, led to production at Sharara being limited to about 125,000 bpd, enough for refining at Libya’s Zawiya refinery but leaving no oil for export.

The kidnapping of the workers remains unresolved. Before the incident, Sharara had been producing around 300,000 bpd, though the field has been vulnerable to frequent disruptions.

Sharara, Libya’s largest field, is operated by Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) in partnership with Repsol, Total, OMV and Equinor.

Source: Libyan Express