The U.S. Embassy in Libya said on Tuesday that the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) should be allowed to immediately resume oil operations that were suspended over the weekend after groups loyal to General Khalifa Haftar blocked virtually all oil production and exports from the African oil producer. “We are deeply concerned that the suspension of National Oil Corporation (NOC) operations risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in Libya and inflicting further needless suffering on the Libyan people. NOC operations should resume immediately,” the U.S. Embassy in Libya said, as the OPEC member’s major oil export pipelines and ports remained blocked for a third day. On Sunday, 800,000 bpd—more than half of Libya’s oil production of around 1.4 million bpd—was taken offline after forces loyal to Haftar blocked the oil ports in eastern Libya which are under the control of Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). After the calls for port blockades on Friday, Libya’s NOC said in a statement, via its chairman Mustafa Sanalla:“If the fields are shut, the production loss will be immediate.

Source: Libya Today January 21, 2020 20:26 UTC