Production at the western Libyan fields of Sharara and Wafa has been blocked by armed factions, reducing output by 252,000 barrels per day (bpd), a source at the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Tuesday.
The shutdown at Sharara, which had been producing about 220,000 bpd, began on Monday, and the shutdown at Wafa a day earlier, the source said.
Sharara resumed operations in December after a shutdown that began in November 2014 due local protesters blocking a pipeline connecting it to the Zawiya oil terminal.
Austrian oil firm OMV, one of the foreign partners in the field, is expected to load a 600,000 barrel cargo of Sharara crude from Zawiya on board the Sea Vine tanker later this week.
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The tanker, which arrives at the port early on Wednesday, could still load its cargo from storage tanks, a Libyan port source with knowledge of the shipment told Reuters.
OMV did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The oil field is operated by a joint venture between NOC and a consortium of Repsol, Total, Statoil and OMV.
