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Libya is on the cusp of an oil production and export halt as oil fields in the country are being shut down due to political demonstrations against the prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
On Monday, Libya's National Oil Corp. (NOC) warned that "a painful wave of closures" had begun hitting its facilities and it cannot meet its contractual obligations on deliveries.
The Sharara field in the west of the country, which can pump 300,000 bpd, was shut down after protesters gathered at the site demanding the resignation of the prime minister. Similarly, on Sunday NOC declared force majeure on deliveries of Mellitah crude oil exports after the El Feel (Elephant) oil field, which produces 70,000 bpd, was closed.
According to Bloomberg, the country's output is down by 535,000 bpd and is likely to fall further.
The 70,000 bpd El Feel oil field was closed on April 16 after protests demanding the ouster of the country's prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the NOC said on its website.
The outages in Libya have increased concern over tight global oil supply. "With global supplies now so tight, even the most minor disruption is likely to have an outsized impact on prices," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA, as saying.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 21 cents, 0.2% to $113.37 a barrel at 00:20 GMT.
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
