The main oil terminals of Libya are blocked, Saturday, January 18, by forces loyal to Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man of eastern Libya, said the National Oil Company (NOC).
In a statement, the NOC announced the cessation of exports to the ports of the oil crescent, the lung of the Libyan economy: Brega, Ras Lanouf, al-Sedra and al-Hariga.
The NOC estimates that the blockage will cause the country's production to drop from 1.3 million barrels per day to 500,000 barrels per day and a shortfall of $ 55 million per day, according to the company.
A group close to Marshal Haftar had called on Friday to block the country's oil exports in protest at Turkish intervention in the conflict, raising concerns from the NOC.
The oil company then denounced pressure tools "for political negotiations" two days before the holding of an international conference in Berlin aimed at relaunching a peace process in Libya.
"Oil is the livelihood of the Libyans"
Marshal Haftar launched in April 2019 an offensive to seize the capital Tripoli, where the Government of National Unity (GNA) sits.
In an interview with AFP on Saturday in Berlin before the announcement of the blockages, the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamé, did not rule out that they had political motivations in connection with the Berlin conference.
"It may have something to do with it." "His timing is - let's say it - a bit shady," noted Ghassan Salamé. "Our line is clear at the UN. We must not play with oil because it is the livelihood of the Libyans. Without oil, the Libyans are starving," he warned.
With AFP
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