Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has evacuated El Feel oil field after the field’s guards staged a strike over pay, according to Reuters.

The NOC announced the closure of the facility after “members of Fazzan group from the Petroleum Facility Guards (PFG) threatened workers, entered the administrative offices in the field, tampered with official papers of the field administration and fired in the air”.

The statement assured that the NOC was trying to “find a solution for the return of calm to the field and resume operations as soon as possible”.

The field, located in southwestern Libya, has recorded a minimum output of 60,000 barrels per day (b/d) in recent months. The sources did not say whether they expected the strike to impact the field’s output.

The field’s total capacity is estimated at over 100,000 b/d.

El Feel oil field is operated by Mellitah, which is a joint venture between the NOC and Italy’s Eni.