Libyan oilfield closures spread amid standoff between rival governments
Adds eastern-based parliament speaker comment in paragraphs 10-11
By Ayman Werfali
BENGHAZI, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Several oilfields across Libya have halted output as closures spread, engineers said on Tuesday, amid a dispute over control of the central bank and oil revenue.
Presidency Council head Mohammed al-Menfi in Tripoli had issued a decision to replace central bank head Sadiq al-Kabir and the bank's board - which the parliament in the east rejected.
On Monday, authorities in the east, where most of the oilfields lie, threatened to close them all, stepping up their standoff with the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, which depends heavily on the fields for its revenues.
There has still been no confirmation of any closures from the Tripoli-based government, or from the National Oil Corp (NOC), which is in charge of oil resources.
However, engineers at the southeastern Amal and Nafoora oilfields told Reuters production had been halted, while engineers at Abu Attifel, also in the east, said output was reduced.
Engineers at the southwestern El Feel oilfield also said output had been halted. The field, which has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, is operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas, which is a joint venture between NOC and Italy's Eni ENI.MI.
The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oilfields are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.
Haftar said in a statement on Monday that the central bank should not be tampered with, rejecting what he called "illegal actions taken by entities that lack legitimacy and authority".
Meanwhile, the Tripoli-based prime minister, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, said in a statement that oilfields should not be allowed to be shut down "under flimsy pretexts".
Later, the speaker of the eastern-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, said that oil and gas flows would remain on hold until the central bank governor resumed his legal duties, to preserve the wealth of the Libyan people "from tampering and theft".
He added in remarks to the press that "the appointment of the governor is not within the jurisdiction of the Presidential Council at all, and what the council did is in violation of the law".
NOC subsidiary Waha Oil Company had said on Monday it planned to gradually reduce output and warned of a complete halt to Libya's production, citing unspecified "protests and pressures", while another subsidiary, Sirte Oil Company, also said it would cut output.
The NOC declared force majeure earlier this month at one of the country's largest oilfields, Sharara, located in Libya's southwest with a capacity of 300,000 bpd, due to protests. The force majeure is still in force.
Libya's overall oil production was about 1.18 million barrels per day in July, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, citing secondary sources.
Brent crude prices LCOc1 were down slightly on Tuesday trading at about $81 a barrel, after rebounding more than 7% over the previous three sessions on supply concerns partly prompted by concerns over the impact of Libyan shutdowns.
Reporting by Ayman Werfali; Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by David Holmes and Jonathan Oatis
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