On Monday authorities in the east of the country where most of its oilfields lie threatened to close them all, stepping up their standoff with the country's internationally recognised government in Tripoli.

There has still been no confirmation of any closures from Libya's internationally recognised government in Tripoli - which is heavily dependent on the fields for its revenues, or from the National Oil Corp (NOC) which controls the country's oil resources.

The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oilfields are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.

Engineers at the southeastern Amal and Nafoora oilfields said earlier this Tuesday production was halted, while engineers at Abu Attifel, also in the east, said production output was reduced.

Fields in the east account for almost all the country's production.

Production capacity at the El Feel oilfield reached 70 000 barrels per day in May.

NOC subsidiary Waha Oil Company 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.

--Reuters--