Libyan Oil Industry Thrown Into More Chaos as Haftar Digs In
- LNA says it will continue blockade; Sider loading was one-off
- The National Oil Corp. reimposes force majeure on all exports
Khalifa Haftar
Photographer: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Libya’s oil industry was thrown into deeper confusion with military commander Khalifa Haftar, a key player in the nation’s civil war, warning he would continue to blockade ports and fields, barely a day after the state energy company said exports could resume.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army had allowed a tanker to load about 730,000 barrels of crude from the eastern port of Es Sider on Friday, with the cargo bound for Italy. That was an exception and other shipments will be banned until the warring sides agree to distribute oil money more fairly and to audit the Tripoli-based central bank, which handles energy revenue, the LNA’s spokesman, Ahmed al-Mismari, said in statement posted on Facebook on Saturday night.