TRIPOLI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared on Saturday force majeure in the southeastern oil field Al-Fil, which produces 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day, after all secure guards of the field withdrew as a protest.

"The National Oil Corporation declares the state of force majeure in the Al-Fil oil field, after the oil guards threatened workers, fired gun in the air, entered the administrative offices in the field, and tampered with official documents," the Corporation said in a statement.

"The safety and security of our workers is our priority and is more important than oil production," said Mustafa San'alla, head of the Corporation, adding that the oil installation guards are affiliated to the Ministry of Defense, the authority to meet their demands, not the Corporation.

Libya's oil production lost 70,000 barrels per day, as the Al-Fil oil field was closed Friday night due to withdrawal of the guards.

The oil installations guards in southern Libya were demanding the government to pay their outstanding salaries of three months.

The Al-Fil oil field is located some 900 km south of Tripoli, capital of Libya. It is one of the most important fields of ENI, which operates it with the NOC.

Libya, which has Africa's largest oil reserves, used to produce about 1.6 million barrels per day before the 2011 armed uprising that toppled and killed former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya's daily production of crude oil has returned to over one million barrels a day since the end of 2017, after production operations of all southern and eastern oil fields were resumed.

However, sudden closures of oil fields due to labor protests have caused Libya's oil production to fluctuate.