Libya halted loading what would be the first overseas crude shipment from the port of Ras Lanuf since 2014 as rival armed forces fought for control of the facility, complicating efforts to end a five-year conflict that has slashed oil exports from the OPEC country.

Forces loyal to eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar repulsed a local Petroleum Facilities Guard unit that tried on Sunday to seize control of Ras Lanuf and the country’s largest oil port of Es Sider in east Libya, Mohammad Al-Azoumi, spokesman for a battalion under Haftar’s command, said by phone. Five petroleum guards were killed during the clashes, he said.

The fighting forced the tanker Seadelta to suspend the loading of 781,000 barrels of oil for shipment to Italy, Nasser Delaab, petroleum operations inspector at Harouge Oil Operations, said by phone. The tanker, which began loading earlier Sunday, sailed away from Ras Lanuf and may return to the port to finish taking on oil on Monday, he said. Another tanker, the Syra, will arrive soon in Ras Lanuf to ship 600,000 barrels of crude to Italy, he said.

Libya is seeking to boost crude exports after fighting among rival militias slashed oil production following the 2011 ouster of former dictator Moammar Al Qaddafi. The conflict halted exports from the nation’s main oil ports of Es Sider, Zueitina and Ras Lanuf as the country struggled to form a unified national government. The National Oil Corp. planned to resume exports from the ports after reaching an accord with Haftar, who seized control of the facilities last week.

Largest Reserves

Haftar took Ras Lanuf and Es Sider from Ibrahim Jadran, leader of local Petroleum Facilities Guard units, giving the eastern region’s powerful military chief control of both shipping terminals and oil fields in Libya’s main producing areas.

The Seadelta was loading crude from onshore storage tanks, said Delaab, who helps organize oil movements at Ras Lanuf, Libya’s third-largest oil port. The vessel arrived there early Sunday from Trieste, Italy, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Libya, if it succeeds in shipping the Seadelta cargo from Ras Lanuf, will be selling into an oversupplied market in which crude is trading at about half its 2014 levels. The country holds Africa’s largest oil reserves and pumped 1.6 million barrels of crude a day before Qaddafi’s ouster. Production has tumbled since then to 260,000 barrels a day in August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and Libya now ranks as the second-smallest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Gabon.

Harouge Oil pumped about 100,000 barrels a day through the end of 2014 but halted operations due to fighting in the country, Delaab said. The company has production rights to at least five oil fields around Ras Lanuf, according to its website.

Source: Bloomberg