Libyan state oil firm says output down 75pc due to blockade

[ad_1] By AFP More by this Author Libya's oil production has plunged by around three-quarters since forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar launched a blockade a week ago, the National Oil Company announced Saturday. The fall, from 1.2 million barrels a day to just over 320,000, has caused estimated losses of $256 million since the closure of major oil fields and ports in the east and south of the country, the NOC said in a statement. Haftar began an offensive in April last year to seize the capital Tripoli from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord. Pro-Haftar forces blockaded the main oil terminals in eastern Libya the day before a summit in Berlin on January 19 that called for the end of foreign interference in the conflict and a resumption of the peace process. Exports were suspended at the ports of Brega, Ras Lanouf, Al-Sidra, Al-Hariga and Zweitina in the country's "oil crescent". Advertisement The NOC also denounced the closure of valves at a pumping station in the southwest, which shut down production the major fields of Al-Sharara and Al-Fil. window.fbAsyncInit=function(){FB.init({appId:'174023979648743',xfbml:!0,version:'v2.5'})};(function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id)){return}js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs)}(document,'script','facebook-jssdk')); [ad_2] Source link