CAIRO — A pipeline rupture on Tuesday in Libya is spewing thousands of barrels of oil into the desert, as workers strive to seal off the leak.

The damage to a land pipeline linking the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk terminal on the Mediterranean was the latest blow to Libya’s struggling oil industry, as renewed tensions divide the country.

The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, which operates the pipeline, estimates that some 22,000 barrels a day were being lost from the leak. The company blamed lack of pipeline maintenance for the leakage.

The spill comes as crucial oil facilities including the country’s biggest field were still closed amid a political impasse that threatens a return of violence. Libya has been wrecked by conflict since the NATO-backed uprising-turned-civil war toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.