A fresh round of panic-buying at petrol stations has prompted the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to issue a statement that supplies are running normally.

Libya's prime minister has confirmed the brutal drop in crude oil production, which thanks to labour unrest and security issues has now fallen to less than a fifth of its levels earlier in the year.

An attack on a pipeline has closed two major fields in south-west Libya, according to the deputy oil minister, bringing total output down to an estimated 200,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) says that ongoing sit-ins at the Hariqa terminal Tobruk may force its Sarir refinery to close, threatening electricty and gasoline supplies for some areas. 

The defence ministry has again threatened to bomb any tankers trying to ship oil from ports currently controlled by armed protesters, saying that three bases have been put on alert.

An Italy-bound oil tanker departed from Brega on 27 August, according to the oil and gas ministry, which said last week that the port had reopened after a series of labour problems.

Employees at the Hamada oil field, which is operated by the state-owned Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), say they have resumed production.

National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Nuri Berruien says that strikes and sit-ins have cost some $4.5bn (LD5.6bn) in lost oil revenue so far this year.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that exports from the Brega oil port, which had been closed by labour unrest, resumed on 22 August.

Protesters at the Zueitina oil terminal fired shots when asked to leave by local residents, injuring one civilian, according to the head of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG).

Ongoing strikes have forced the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to pull out of its contractual obligations to deliver crude oil and refined products, with ships told to leave the Es Sider terminal.

The oil export terminal at Tobruq has reopened after a negotiated end to strikes by security guards, according to oil officials quoted by Reuters.

The government has appointed a specialist team to look into claims that crude oil exports have not been correctly measured when leaving ports.

Sources quoted by LANA have accused armed groups of trying to illegally sell crude oil from the Ras Lanuf terminal in eastern Libya.

Revenues from Libyan crude exports in the first six months of the year were higher than projected, according to the deputy oil minister, despite significant losses caused by labour action.