Libya lost over $145 million since the closure of its El-Feel oilfield in the Murzuq on February 23, the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) stated on March 26, according to Xinhua.

“El-Feel oil field, which produces more than 70,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d), is still closed as production remains stopped for the second month,” a senior official of the corporation said.

The field was a join operation between the NOC and Eni.

In a statement on February 24, the NOC said that the field was closed “after members of the Fezzan unit of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) threatened workers, entered the administrative offices at the field, and fired weapons in the air.”

Members of the PFG were understood to be disgruntled due to a delayed payment of salaries. An NOC statement said that the PFG members who wanted money had “nothing to do with the oil sector.”

Libya, housing the largest oil reserves in Africa, produced roughly 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) before the 2011 uprising against former leader Muammar Gaddafi. As of the end 2017, crude production returned to over 1 mb/d after the operations in southern and eastern oil fields resumed.