Armed men blew up a pipeline pumping crude oil to Es Sider port on Tuesday, cutting Libya’s output by up to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), military and oil sources said.
The state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in statement output had been reduced by 70,000-100,000 bpd. The cause of the blast was unclear, it added.
The attackers arrived at the site near Marada in two cars and planted explosives on the pipeline, a military source said.
Pictures purportedly showing a huge cloud from the blast in central eastern Libya circulated on social media.
The damage was still being assessed, one oil source said. Oil prices rose on the report.
#Breaking: #LNA sources accuse islamist militants from ‘the #Benghazi Defense Brigades’ of blast targeting the main pipeline linking the Sidrah terminal and #oil fields belonging to al-Waha company. The attack took place about 30km northwest of Maradah. #Libya pic.twitter.com/DjDqj0qQHk
— The Libya Times (@thelibyatimes) 26 December 2017
The damage was still being assessed, one oil source said. Oil prices rose on the report.
Islamic State fighters had a presence in the area until government forces expelled them from their main stronghold in Sirte a year ago.
The operator of the pipeline is Waha, a subsidiary of the NOC and a joint venture with Hess Corp, Marathon Oil Corp and ConocoPhillips.
Waha pumps a total 260,000 barrels a day, its chairman said last month.
The North African state’s oil production was last put by officials at around one million bpd but exact figures are hard to obtain in a country riven by factional conflict.