Today, Saturday, the National Oil Corporation announced the status of "force majeure" in the eastern oil ports, after it closed the forces loyal to the retired brigade, Khalifa Hifter, the most prominent oil ports in the east of the country.

The company (government) said - in a statement seen by the Anatolia Agency - that the General Command and the Guard of the Petroleum Facilities of Haftar issued instructions to oil companies to stop their exports from the ports of Brega, Ras Lanuf, Al-Harika, Zuaitina and Sidra, in the east of the country.

The corporation warned that stopping oil exports would lead to losses in crude production by 800 thousand barrels per day, and daily financial losses estimated at about 55 million dollars.

Earlier, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed deep concern to disrupt oil production, and warned of the danger of this to the Libyan economy.

"This step will have serious consequences, first and foremost for the Libyan people, who depend entirely on the permanent flow of oil," a mission statement said.

It urged all Libyans to exercise maximum restraint, while international negotiations continue to mediate an end to the protracted Libyan crisis, and stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity and neutrality of the National Oil Corporation.

Tanker movement
A Libyan oil official revealed that an oil tanker was prevented from entering the Harika port in the Libyan eastern city of Tobruk, and sources in the Arab Gulf Oil Company - a joint stock company owned entirely by the Libyan state, whose headquarters are Benghazi - said that the Gulf Company gave instructions to its fields In the south of the country, production is reduced as the port is closed.

On Friday evening, local sources told Anatolia that hundreds of Haftar supporters stormed the port of Zouitina and demanded that its employees close it, claiming that the oil sale money is being used by the reconciliation government, and the same sources expected the protesters' intention to close other oil fields and ports during the coming hours.

The protesters announced in the statement their intention to stop exporting oil from all ports, starting with the port of Zouitina, according to the Anatolia Agency, and quoting local sources.

Warnings for Haftar
This step was preceded by a warning to the National Oil Corporation of Libya - in a statement - Haftar of the closure of oil installations and ports, against the backdrop of calls in the cities of eastern Libya demanding that.

The Haftar forces oversee the securing of oil fields and ports in the central region (the oil crescent), Brega, and the city of Tobruk on the Egyptian border, while those facilities are run by the Oil Corporation of the Government of Concord, which the international community does not recognize as a marketer for Libyan oil.

And Libya's production last October reached 1.167 million barrels per day, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Haftar's forces have launched an offensive since April 4 to seize Tripoli, the seat of the legitimate government, which has aborted efforts by the United Nations to hold a dialogue conference between the Libyans.