Libyan Oil Field
A security officer walks past a gas pipeline after an explosion south of the city of Ajdabiyah in Libya, April 3, 2013. Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori

Libya is losing $130 million a day in oil revenue because of ongoing protests at large export terminals and oil fields across the country, Libya’s prime minister said Friday.

Arrest warrants have been issued by the Libyan government for the strike organizers in hopes of breaking up the strife and returning to regular output.

Protesters have been demanding better working conditions and pay, which they had expected to start seeing after the fall and death of the brutal ruler Moammar Gaddafi in 2011.

“I won’t let anyone hold Libya and its resources hostage to these groups for long,” said Ali Zeidan, prime minister of Libya, according to Reuters.

Libya’s oil production has fallen from 1.4 million to about 150,000 barrels of oil a day due to oil strikes as well as attacks on critical infrastructure.

"I am not threatening, but … these people must calculate what they are doing, so when action takes place everyone will understand why, but I hope we won't be forced to do something that we don't want."

Libya