Oil site blockade costs Libya more than US$ 9 billion

31 Août 2020

Tripoli, Libya, August 31 (Infosplusgabon) - A 226-day blockade of oil sites cost the Libyan government US$ 9.103 billion, the Libyan National Petroleum Company (NOC) said on Monday in a statement.

Since January 18, several oil sites have been illegally closed in Libya.

Besides these financial losses, sparked by the illegal closure of ports and oil facilities, there is also a problem in the distribution of electricity with frequent blackouts, according to the NOC.

NOC Board Chairman, Mustapha Sanalla, accused foreign countries of benefiting financially from the lack of Libyan oil on the world market, claiming that they "are handling Libyan dolls, with the support of foreign mercenaries" to implement closures.

In a speech at an international conference on oil, Sanalla explained that "the majority of Libyans want to see the resumption of oil production, accompanied by real transparency from all parties regarding income and expenditure".

He stressed that "the citizen is the most affected by the illegal closures imposed in the eastern and central regions since January, and that the greatest proof is the deterioration of services and the persistent lack of liquidity".

The armed forces allied to Marshal Khalifa Haftar have imposed a blockade since January 18 on oil fields and ports in several regions of Libya under their control, resulting in a loss of production of 800,000 bpd, while production was established to over 1.2 million barrels per day.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/AFD/GABON2020

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