Mustafa Sanalla, Chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC), speaks during a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, on Oct. 2, 2017. The closure of the Libyan oilfield Sharara since late Sunday has caused a loss of 14 million euros (16 million U.S. dollars), Mustafa Sanalla said on Monday. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)
TRIPOLI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The closure of the Libyan oilfield Sharara since late Sunday has caused a loss of 14 million euros (16 million U.S. dollars), Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, said on Monday.
"The closure of the oilfield of Sharara has cost us huge financial losses. It is regrettable as the country's oil production comes with contract obligations with foreign companies and contributes to operation of power plants and factories inside Libya," Sanalla said at a press conference.
"We have been informed that those responsible for protecting the field have closed it since yesterday on the grounds that they have not been paid their salaries for years, and that they have abductees from the south demanding their release. They also demand supply of fuel in the cities of the south,"Sanalla added.
Sanalla also rejected "extortion and pressures against on the corporation."
"We will not give in to any demands of protesters who close down oilfields and ports because we are not interested in implementing any demands," Sanalla said.
The southern oilfield Sharara is the largest of its kind in Libya, producing 270,000 barrels per day (bpd). It is crucial to Libya's oil output.
The oilfield was reopened in December after it was shut down by oil installations guards for more than two years.
