The Zueitina oil terminal in Libya remains shut, almost a month after demonstrators forced the closure of the major oil exporting hub, a shipping agent told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

The closure has caused severe disruptions to exports of oil from the North African country, traders have said.

One trader said last week that five cargoes for January loading had been dropped, three cargoes of Bu Attifel oil and two cargoes of Zueitina oil.

"It's affecting the market really badly," he said. "Basically January liftings were cancelled."

Oil installations have been focal points for demonstrations following elections in July.

What is happening in "Zueitina is in line with what's been going on elsewhere; there's been quite a lot of protests at oil terminals throughout the country over the last three months," said Alan Fraser, risk consultant at Ake security in an interview last week.

"Locals are trying to pressure the government and oil ministry into giving more people in the local community jobs," he said.

In 2011, a civil war that completely halted oil exports from the member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rocked the markets and contributed to soaring prices.

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