Libyan protesters close Al-Raguba oilfield, cause production drop

TRIPOLI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Protesters demanding employment and services for their areas on Wednesday closed Al-Raguba oilfield in eastern Libya, causing a production drop of 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the local TV channel 218 reported.

A spokesman for the state-owned National Oil Corporation's Sirte Gas and Oil Company, which runs the field, said the company's daily oil production of 61 thousand barrels has decreased due to the closure of the oilfield.

The protesters have previously threatened to close all the oilfields in Marada basin, a part of the coastal oil crescent region that contains major oilfields and ports, until their demands to provide employment and better services for their areas are met.

Libya, which has Africa's largest oil reserves, used to produce about 1.6 million barrels per day before the 2011 armed uprising that toppled and killed former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya's daily production of crude oil has returned to about one million barrels a day since the end of 2017, after production operations of all southern and eastern oilfields were resumed.

However, sudden closures of oilfields due to protests as well as terrorist attacks have caused Libya's oil production to fluctuate.

In February, Al-Fil oil field, a major oilfield in the south of the country was shut for more than a month after the oil installation guards withdrew from the oilfield in protest of their unpaid salaries, which caused more than 100 million U.S. dollars, according to the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC). Enditem