Libya’s two governments clashed over its main oil ports in the east and the Tunisian border on Sunday, forcing closure of the two biggest oil export terminals, officials told Reuters.
The internationally recognised government based in the eastern part of the country tried to seize the oil facilities of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf off its rival counterpart that had taken control of the ports on Saturday.
Libya’s state owned National Oil Corp, headquartered in Tripoli, shut down production at the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf ports and most staff left.
Production from the two fields equals some 350,000 barrels a day (bpd), which is more than half of the country’s total crude output.
Es Sider, located about 23 km west of Ras Lanuf, is Libya’s largest oil depot, shipping about 447,000 barrels per day before the country fell into a civil war in 2011.
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