Three Libyan oil fields receive instructions to resume production- but oil shutdown endures

Engineers at the three fields of Libya's Sarir, Messla and Nafoura oil production have received instructions to resume production, this according to reports from Reuters, after a standoff between rival political factions shut most of the country's oilfields.

The resumption order was made by the fields' operator, the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which did not provide any reasons, according to the engineers. As much as 230,000 b/d of crude production has been restored in Libya to alleviate a fuel shortage, but sources said the increase did not indicate that a week-long oil shutdown was easing.

A struggle to control the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has sparked a blockade of oil production and threatens the worst crisis in years for the major energy exporter, long torn between rival eastern and western factions.