Libya's oil war .. Warning against stopping production, America condemns and France obstructs

The Libyan National Oil Corporation said it may have to halt all crude oil production. While the US embassy has called for an "immediate resumption" of production, France has blocked the issuance of a statement of condemnation against retired Major General Khalifa Hifter.

The Oil Corporation explained that if the maximum storage capacity is reached for the Harika, Brega, Zuaitina, Sidra and Ras Lanuf ports in eastern Libya, it will stop oil production.

The Foundation announced - in a statement - its inability to load a shipment of cooking gas, which is to be allocated to the city of Benghazi, after announcing the case of force majeure in shipping operations from oil ports.

The statement said that halting production and export will cause gas supply to the east and south of the country short of gas. The Foundation estimated its daily losses at $ 77 million.

For its part, the internationally recognized Libyan National Accord government expressed its outrage over the stoppage of production in the oil fields.

The Al-Wefaq government considered the Libyan National Oil Corporation to suspend its operations as an "economic blockade aimed at strangling the Libyan people."

American invitation
In a related development, the US embassy in Libya called on Tuesday for the "immediate resumption" of the Libyan oil export and extraction operations, after it expressed "deep concern" about stopping these operations due to the closure of forces loyal to the major Libyan oil ports.

"We are deeply concerned that stopping the operations of the National Oil Corporation may threaten to worsen the humanitarian emergency in Libya and cause more unnecessary suffering to the Libyan people," the embassy said in a tweet on Twitter. "The operations of the National Oil Corporation should be resumed immediately," she added.

French block
On the other hand, the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" quoted a senior official in the national reconciliation government that France had blocked the issuance of a statement of condemnation against Haftar, which had been prepared by the United States of America, Italy, Germany and Britain.

The newspaper noted that, despite the apparent truce, the level of conflict in Libya is rising very seriously, especially after the Haftar bombing and the consequence of the oil war by tightening the screws on the government of national reconciliation.

And La Repubblica pointed out that "Paris grins its teeth" in the last hours - by freezing the issuance of the US-European condemnation statement for Haftar - perhaps indicating a new and overt public French position that until the past hours was a secret.

The correspondent of the Italian newspaper in Tripoli quoted the Libyan National Accord government’s comment on the French position that “stopping the export of oil from Libya to the outside of the country cannot be considered less than a very dangerous declaration of war. European governments are well aware of the consequences of such a criminal act for our country.” .

"At a time when the economic blockade aimed at suppressing the breath of the Libyan people is being launched, France for the 1000th time is preventing the issuance of a statement of condemnation of its ally, Khalifa Haftar," the senior official said.

The newspaper La Repubblica stressed that the consequences of these actions are disastrous and unimaginable, especially as this will lead to a decrease in total oil production from Libya from 1.2 million barrels per day to only seventy thousand barrels, which is the amount extracted from offshore oil fields.

The Italian newspaper published a paragraph of the document in which the Al-Sarraj government asked the United States of America to condemn Hifter, stating that "the Libyan National Oil Corporation was forced to suspend operations in oil installations throughout Libya, and calls for their immediate reopening, and therefore we call on all parties The concerned party should assume its responsibilities and work to enable the Libyan National Oil Corporation to resume its activities for the benefit of all citizens. "

The Italian newspaper expressed its disapproval that, although the text of the condemnation against a diluted hiatk, it was rejected by France.

The Libyan official revealed to the newspaper that Paris is in fact seeking to weaken the role of the head of the National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanallah, and the role of the Libyan governor of the Sadeq al-Kabir, despite the fact that oil revenues end up in the treasury of the central bank to distribute them at a next moment in the west and east of the country. whether.

The informed Libyan source told the Italian newspaper that the reason behind the French stance against the two legitimate Libyan institutions is "its endeavor to win a portion of the bids that the Libyan National Oil Company is preparing to invest in the oil sector at a value of thirty billion dollars."