Libya’s Oil Ministry has banned the use of foreign private security firms by international oil companies operating in the country’s oil fields.

Nuri Burrien, chairman of state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) told a delegation from UK-oil major BP on 8 April, that it will not allow any form of foreign security presence at its oil fields, according to a statement on the company’s website.

BP said it plans to send another delegation to Tripoli for further talks on security, according to the statement.

In late-February, BP invited firms to express their interest in the provision of onshore mud drilling services as part of its exploration of 14,000 square kilometres in the Ghadames Basin.

BP lifted its declaration of force majeure on exploration activities in the Mediterranean with NOC in May last year. Force majeure had been in place since 21 February 2011, when civil war broke out.

In early March, natural gas exports through the Greenstream pipeline to Italy were shut down for at least two days due to violent clashes between militia guards and local tribesmen at the Mellitah Oil & Gas facility in the northwest of the country.

The clash resulted in one death but the facility was not damaged. Nonetheless, the incident highlights the exposure of Libya’s oil fields, pipelines and processing infrastructure. At the end of 2012, the oil and defence ministries established an 8,000-strong oil field defence force to protect the country’s hydrocarbon infrastructure.

Oil production has been disrupted by violent clashes outside facilities, protests and occasional sabotage such as the 2 April attack on a crude oil pipeline using a rocket-propelled grenade.