The National Oil Corporation in Libya said - in a statement today, Friday - that military personnel have used live ammunition and heavy weapons in the port of Ras Lanuf today, adding that the presence of mercenaries is a real threat to the corporation’s workers and facilities in all parts of Libya.
"Fortunately, there were no casualties, but this kind of unacceptable behavior could have led to a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe," said Foundation President Mustafa Sanallah, calling on all parties in Libya and the international community to support ending the military presence in all Libyan oil installations.
The forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar imposed a blockade on oil ports and facilities since January, and last July Haftar announced several conditions for reopening oil facilities, including depositing oil money in a foreign country, setting up a transparent spending mechanism with international guarantees, and auditing bank accounts. Libya Central is in Tripoli to find out the path of the money that has been spent over the past years.
However, Haftar returned and opened the oil fields and ports under the control of his forces, after failing to impose his previous conditions for re-pumping Libyan oil and losing the war in the capital, Tripoli.
On August 12, the Libyan Oil Corporation, affiliated to the Government of National Accord, said in a statement that the total losses in the closure of ports and oil fields amounted to about $ 8 billion and 221 million, after 208 days of the forced closure of Haftar's forces.
Libya's oil production, before the fields and ports were closed, reached 1.22 million barrels per day, according to identical data by the Corporation and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), compared to less than 90,000 currently.
On August 21, the internationally recognized Government of National Accord reached a ceasefire agreement with the Tobruk Parliament headed by Aqila Saleh, which included the resumption of oil production and export, provided that its revenues are frozen and are not disposed of until after a political settlement between the Libyan factions.