7 August 2024: Protests at Sharara disrupt production on orders of Saddam Haftar

This week we look at the protests ordered by Saddam Haftar which are disrupting production at the Sharara field, controversy over Mishri's election as HSC president, and tensions around Ghadames.

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Protests at Sharara disrupt production on orders of Saddam Haftar over Spanish arrest warrant

Incident: On the evening of 3 August, protesters entered the operation room at Sharara oil field in southwest Libya and instructed staff to reduce production. In the initial hours after the protest began, production began to drop gradually. Pre-shut down production was  around 270,000bpd. 

On 4 August, the Government of National Unity (GNU) condemned the attempt to close Sharara as 'new attempts at political blackmail'. It vowed to defend Libya’s people and a field it described as a precious economic resource. On 4 August, Akakus Oil Operations (the Joint Venture which operates Sharara) said in a statement that it would be suspending crude production in compliance with the demands of the Fezzan Anger movement which, according to Akakus, are linked to delays in implementing some of their demands from earlier in the year such as moving Akakus’s headquarters to Awbari and the delay in implementing promised development projects in the region.  On 5 August, Austria’s OMV (one of the JV partners) acknowledged a reduction in output starting on 4 August but said they were ‘unaware of the causes.’ 

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) did not initially comment on the disruption. However at midday on 6 August, the NOC announced ‘the start of a partial reduction in production from the Sharara field due to force majeure conditions resulting from the sit-ins of the Fezzan Movement Coalition. The NOC calls on the concerned parties to take into account the national interest and support the NOC's efforts aimed at stabilizing and increasing production.'

Despite official claims that the Fezzan Anger movement is behind the protests, Bashir al-Sheikh, the leader of Fezzan Anger, said his movement had nothing to do with the closure and that Saddam Haftar, the son of Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar, had issued the order. Neither Saddam nor the LNA leadership had commented on the shut down at the time of writing.

Reliable sources indicate that this shutdown has indeed been ordered by Saddam Haftar. The precise details are less easy to verify, but it seems that Saddam landed at an Italian airport on 2 August at which point the Italian authorities warned him that an arrest warrant had been issued against him by the Spanish authorities over an attempt to smuggle drones through Spain into Libya. It seems Saddam responded to this by instructing that Sharara be shut down in order to hurt Spain’s Repsol, one of the JV partners at the field, and put pressure on the Spanish authorities to rescind the arrest warrant.

Comment: Sharara is a joint venture between the NOC, France’s TotalEnergies, Spain’s Repsol, Austria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor. The field is the largest in Libya, producing up to 350,000bpd at full capacity. Sharara crude is exported via Zawiyya port, and around 10,000bpd is used to feed Awbari power station.

In the past, local groups have closed Sharara in order to demand better services and benefits for the isolated and deprived southern region. Fuel shortages are a particular issue at present. The most recent shutdown of Sharara was in January 2024 and lasted for two weeks – protestors were calling for action on rising fuel prices, poor economic opportunity and unemployment. LNA-aligned groups secure Sharara – even when it has been local Fezzan protestors who have nominally shut down the field, they have only been able to access the site to do so with the blessing of the LNA.

Saddam Haftar is Khalifa Haftar’s youngest son (aged 33) but is arguably the most powerful. He leads the Tariq Bin Ziyad Brigade and was recently made the Chief of Staff of the LNA’s Ground Forces. He is also  involved in various lucrative smuggling rackets in eastern Libya. It is Saddam who was instrumental in negotiating and maintaining the deal between Abdul Hameed Dabaiba and Khalifa Haftar (via PM Dabaiba’s nephew and advisor Ibrahim Dabaiba) which underpins the current political status quo and saw Farhat Bin Qadara appointed as NOC chairman.

Significance: Production at Sharara has been confirmed to have partially gone offline. It is very likely that Saddam Haftar is the one who ordered the shutdown in retaliation for Spanish authorities pursuing him over his involvement in arms smuggling. However, this issue is highly sensitive and neither the NOC, nor the GNU, nor any other companies involved appear willing to call out Saddam publicly over this issue. It is easy to blame the Fezzan Anger movement given they have frequently protested in the past, and it is entirely plausible that some members have been encouraged/ taken advantage of the situation to become involved in the protests.

Ending the blockade will involve some sort of terms being agreed with Saddam and/or the LNA command more broadly. Saddam will likely be wanting some assurances from Spain that they will not proceed with the arrest warrant. It is unclear whether that would happen or not. Other internationals are likely to try to use their burgeoning engagement with the Haftars to put pressure on Saddam/ Khalifa Haftar to end the blockade. However, it is unclear how much leverage they will have, especially given many want to retain good ties either over migration or to prevent deepening ties to Russia. At this point, it is hard to say whether this shutdown will last just a few more hours or whether it will drag into several more days or even weeks. What is certain is that it will not help with broader trends of political and economic instability in the country, and could trigger further unrest and politicization of the oil sector.

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Controversy around HSC elections as Mishri declared new president but Takala says vote invalid

Incident: On 6 August, the High State Council held its annual presidential elections at the HSC headquarters in Tripoli. In the final round of voting, Khaled al-Mishri was elected as HSC president by 69 votes compared to the incumbent Muhammed Takala’s 68 votes. However, there was significant controversy after a vote for Takala was considered as void because it had writing on the back. Takala has said he intends to take the case to the Supreme Court to rule on whether it should have been counted or not. Before leaving, Takala assigned his deputy to manage the affairs of the council until the judiciary decides on the dispute over the ‘controversial paper’. However, Mishri maintains he is the president.

Military tensions between the 444 Brigade and Juwaili-aligned forces in the Ghadames - Mizdah area

Incident: On 30 July, the 17th Border Guard Battalion (under the command of Muhammed Abdul Nabi and linked to Zintani commander Osama Juwaili) moved troops from Ghadames towards al-Qaryah (about 390 km west of Ghadames, 130 km south of Mizdah) to block any advance by the 444 Brigade towards Ghadames. In addition, the battalion mobilized all its other forces in Ghadames and assembled at Ghadames Airport. According to statements from Ghadames, the alleged trigger for the advance of the 444 Brigade was that the Russian Africa Corps wanted to take possession of the border crossing. On 1 August, the 444 Brigade and the 111th Brigade moved troops from Ghariyan to Mizdah. The fully-mobilized 17th Border Guard Battalion took up defensive positions …

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Controversy around HSC elections as Mishri declared new president but Takala says vote invalid; Condolences sent on death of PM Dabaiba’s son