Oil prices fell on Thursday after news that two key oilfields in Libya had restarted, pumping crude for export into an already bloated market.

Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 fell $1.14 a barrel to a low of $50.68 before recovering slightly to trade around $50.85 by 1220 GMT. The contract has fallen more than 10 percent from this month's peak.

U.S. light crude oil CLc1 hit a low of $48.51, down $1.11 a barrel on the day.

Libya's Sharara oilfield, with a production capacity of almost 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), has restarted after the end of protests by an armed group that had blocked pipelines there, a Libyan oil source and local official said on Thursday.

More at Reuters.