Libya oil output back to normal after brief field shutdown, NOC chief says

Libya's oil production has returned to normal after a short-lived protest by security personnel disrupted operations at three oilfields, the chairman of the National Oil Corporation said on Wednesday.

Massoud Suleman told reporters that he does not expect any further shutdowns. The disruption began on Tuesday when members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, the force responsible for securing the country's oil installations, closed a valve on the main Hamada-Zawiya crude-loading pipeline. The move brought production at the Hamada, Tahara and NC5 fields to a complete halt.

Two of the protesters said the group had ended its action at the facilities and would discuss its demands with the NOC in Tripoli this week. The personnel had called for their agency to be placed "financially and administratively under the National Oil Corporation". The reasons behind the demand were not immediately clear.

Oil and gas remain the backbone of Libya's economy, serving as its principal source of revenue. Output has repeatedly been halted for political and technical reasons since the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

The latest interruption added pressure to a global oil market already contending with severe disruption from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.