TRIPOLI (Anadolu/AP) – Libyan tribal leaders have suspended oil production amid a standoff over power in the war-torn country.
In a social media video posted on Sunday, tribal leaders in southern Libya said they halted production at the al-Feel oilfield until Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh hands over power to the newly appointed government of Fathi Bashagha.
They also called for the sacking of Mustafa Sanalla, the head of the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), and for the appointment of a new board for the NOC.
The al-Feel field has the capacity to produce 90,000 barrels per day, but typically produces closer to 70,000.
In another video, tribal leaders in the central town of Zuwetina announced a halt to oil production in central Libya until the Dbeibeh government cedes power.
Tension has mounted in Libya since parliament last month gave confidence to a new government headed by Bashagha, a former interior minister, while Dbeibeh insists on remaining at his post.
Libya’s national oil company said Sunday it was forced to shut down an oil field amid a political impasse that threatened to drag the North African nation back into armed conflict.
Bashagha was named prime minister in February by the House of Representatives, which has been based in Tobruk. Dbeibah, who is based in the capital of Tripoli, has refused to step down and insists he will hand over power only to an elected government.
Over the past two months, divisions among Libyan factions have deepened, with militias mobilizing — especially in the western region. That has raised fears that fighting could return after more than 1 1/2 years of relative calm.
Sunday’s closure comes as the conflict in Ukraine has rattled markets worldwide, causing crude oil prices to soar above $106 per barrel.
Last month, an armed group shut down al-Feel and another critical oil field, Sharara, Libya’s largest, before reopening a few days later following negotiations led by tribal leaders.
Libya’s prized light crude has long featured in the North African country’s civil war, with rival militias and foreign powers jostling for control of Africa’s largest oil reserves.
The oil-rich North African country has been wrecked by conflict since the uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments.