The National Oil Corporation (NOC), Libya’s state-owned oil company, declared on Thursday force majeure in Sidra, Ras Lanuf and El-Feel oilfields due to shutdowns which caused $3 billion loss (16 billion Libyan dinars). “We are forced to declare a state of force majeure on the terminals of Asidra and Ras Lanuf, in addition to the Al-Feel field, with the continuation of the state of force majeure on the terminals of Brega and Zueitina,” NOC quoted its chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, as saying in a statement released Thursday evening,“Our patience has run out after we have repeatedly tried to avoid declaring the state of force majeure, but the implementation of our obligations has become impossible,” Sanalla said. Sanalla blamed these outcomes on the forceful shutdown of production, political disputes between the country’s rival parties as well as “the refusal of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance to monetize allocations in US dollars”. The NOC chairman also criticized by name Oil Minister Mohamed Aoun, who serves in the cabinet of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and accused him of ‘misleading public opinion’ and ‘manipulating facts’. The two officials have had long-running disagreements over management of the country’s oil sector, which aggravated to tit-for-tat moves including trading accusations publicly.

Source: Libya Today July 01, 2022 00:40 UTC