TRIPOLI, Libya, April 6 (UPI) -- Libyan media reports, an oil field shuttered since the middle of 2013, may be on the cusp of resuming operations after the resolution of labor disputes.
The Libya Herald reported Sunday operations of the Abu Attifel oil field, last producing around 70,000 barrels of oil per day, may restart soon. The report said Italian energy company Eni stopped operations at the field "in August 2013 following the occupation and closure of oil export terminals by secessionist protestors."
More than 1,000 demonstrators descended on the facility in late 2013 demanding jobs.
"It is not yet clear what deal, if any, has been reached between the locals and the Libyan National Oil Co., which will allow Abu Attifel to restart production," the Herald reported.
Before NATO forces intervened in Libyan civil war in 2011, the country was producing more than 1 million bpd. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in its latest market report said production from member-state Libya was around 300,000 bpd.
Libya has been unable to coordinate political efforts across the wide range of groups vying for more power since civil war ended. In late March, the U.N. Support Mission in Libya said it welcomed cease-fire agreements and the withdrawal of fighters from oil production areas.
"[UNSMIL] has urged the parties to the conflict to cease all military hostilities and focus instead on their common enemy, the terrorist groups which are determined to expand their areas of influence," the mission said.
The group calling itself the Islamic State has gained influence in war-torn Libya.
