Libya's oil production halt continues

Oil production at several Libyan oil fields was halted on Tuesday after the rival government in the east announced on Monday a halt to all oil production and exports from the African OPEC member.

Crude oil production at the El Feel oil field in southwest Libya has stopped, engineers say Reuters Tuesday.

Engineers at several other oil fields in the east and southeast have also halted or reduced production. Local operators have indicated that Bloomberg They will gradually stop production across the country.

Libya, which pumps about 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, slipped into a deeper political crisis earlier this month over a dispute over the leadership of the Central Bank of Libya, the only internationally recognized authority for Libya's oil revenues.

The Benghazi-based government in eastern Libya, which is competing with the Tripoli-based government in the politically divided North African OPEC member, said on Monday it would halt all crude oil production and exports.

The eastern-based government, backed by military leader Khalifa Haftar, has no international recognition, but Haftar and his men control most of the country's oil fields.

Over the past weeks, the situation in Libya has deteriorated as the conflict between east and west has flared up again, centering around the leadership of the Central Bank of Libya – the guardian of Libya's wealth and income from oil exports.

The internationally recognized government in the capital Tripoli in the west of the country is trying to replace Sadiq al-Kabir, the governor of the Libyan Central Bank, which has led to the latest controversy between the eastern and western governments and political factions, which threatens once again to reduce Libya's oil production and exports.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya announced Express The European Union expressed on Monday its “deep concern over the deterioration of the situation in Libya as a result of unilateral decisions.”

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya warned that “continuing unilateral measures will have a heavy price for the Libyan people to resolve the protracted crisis, and risks accelerating the country's financial and economic collapse.”

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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