TRIPOLI, Libya, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- With fighting ongoing in and around Libya oil export facilities, German energy company Wintershall said it had to suspend operations until further notice.
"Wintershall traditionally transports oil produced in the Libyan desert to the export facilities in the coastal towns of Ras-Lanuf and Zuetina," the German company said in a Monday statement. "Wintershall does not deliver oil to Es Sider, where export facilities are on fire at this time after intense fighting."
The U.N. Support Mission in Libya during the weekend called on all parties involved in the fighting to work together to end what it said was a cycle of violence spiraling quickly toward war.
Oil storage depots at the Es Sider port caught fire during weekend fighting. Ahmed al-Mismari, a spokesman for the Libyan military, said airstrikes targeted militants with the Libya Dawn brigade.
"This morning, two aircraft carried out an airstrike at Es Sider, but they were repulsed by anti-aircraft fire from the ground," he told the Libya Herald.
The state-run National Oil Corp. confirmed as many as five of the 21 tanks storing oil at the site are in flames, which represents about $100 million worth of crude oil.
Oil export facilities in Libya have been closed due to violence since at least mid-December. Prior to civil war in 2011, Libya was producing around 1 million barrels of oil per day.
For Wintershall, which was only able to get operations going in September, output was around 35,000 bpd.
