The National Oil Corporation announced the state of force majeure on the exports of the Sharara oil field today, and reported that an armed group stopped production in the field again days after it resumed.
But a commercial source and the oil sector said that the Sharara field resumed production later on Tuesday after a short period of shutdown by an armed group, according to Reuters.
In a statement, the establishment denounced what it described as the crime committed by the armed group "that entered the Sharara field from Sabha and made weapons known to the defenseless workers, forcing them to stop production at dawn today, at the field, just three days after the return of production," according to the statement.
And the Libyan Oil Corporation considered that the actions of the armed group "a serious criminal act that amounts to treachery against the Libyan people and the national economy, as the closure of the public treasury will incur more losses and lead to new technical damage."
"It is clear that this criminal group puts the interests of its commanders and the interests of the frivolous foreign powers in Libya above the interest of the homeland," commented Mustafa Nanaa, chairman of the National Oil Corporation.
And on Sunday, the company said that the Sharara oil field - which was previously producing about 300 thousand barrels per day - resumed its work again, after a forced interruption that lasted for nearly five months, led to a negative financial impact resulting from the closure.
The Sharara field - one of the largest oil production areas in Libya - has been a target of armed operations since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, which led to the division of the country.
The forces of retired Libyan Major General Khalifa Haftar closed most of the Libyan oil fields in January, but withdrew after the collapse of their campaign to control the capital, Tripoli.
The National Oil Corporation runs the Sharara field in a joint venture with Spain's Repsol, France's Total, Austria's OMV and Norway's Equinor.