(Bloomberg) -- Libya’s crude production rose to 900,000 barrels a day after maintenance work on a major crude pipeline was completed, the North African country’s oil minister said. 

The production boost followed completion of last week’s works on the pipeline linking the eastern Samah and Dhuhra fields to the country’s biggest export terminal, Es Sider, Mohamed Oun said Sunday. The operations had stopped output of 200,000 barrels a day. That, combined with the forced shutdown of the nation’s biggest oilfield and some other deposits in the west, had led production to falter to the lowest in more than a year.

Last month, members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, a paramilitary force meant to protect energy facilities, shut down key oil fields in the west, including Sharara, the nation’s biggest, as they demanded payment of delayed salaries. That dispute, which is ongoing, cut the nation’s output by about 350,000 barrels a day in a setback for the OPEC member, which had enjoyed a period of relative stability last year during which it managed to pump about 1.2 million barrels a day. 

Fighting between rival factions in the country, which has been embroiled in conflict for much of the past decade, has hindered efforts to increase output. Last month, Libya delayed a presidential election meant to end political divisions and help stabilize the energy sector.

Any sustained output drop from Libya, which boasts Africa’s biggest reserves, could counter efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners to boost supplies. 

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