Libya's LNA: Blockade on Oil Will Continue until Demands Are Met

On Saturday, the spokesman for the Libyan National Army (LNA) Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Mismari said the blockade on the country’s oil fields and ports will continue until the orders of the Libyan people are implemented.

Speaking in an online statement, Al-Mismari said that the LNA General Command is committed to the Libyan tribes' mandate for negotiating with the international Community over resuming the oil production.

He added that the LNA General Command has allowed the loading of a tanker on Friday with oil from storage after six months without exports, noting that this came at the request of the international community.

Al-Mismari pointed out that the Libyan tribes stipulated that the oil revenues be deposited into a foreign bank account to ensure their fair distribution amongst Libya’s three regions under the auspices of the United Nations, stressing the importance of avoiding that these funds are not be allocated for weapons, war, or given to militias.

He also conditioned auditing the accounts of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli to investigate the past spending, and to hold accountable those who squandered them.

Notably, the National Oil Corporation, which dominates Libya’s critical oil industry, said that the losses from the oil blockade have exceeded $6.5 billion since Jan. 17.

Libya's LNA and oil

“All areas of life, the national infrastructure and all Libyans, including men, women and children, are affected by this heavy loss. This will add to their suffering,” said Mustafa Sanalla, head of the NOC.

He called for lifting the closure, saying if the corporation resumes production, Libya “may be able to stop the collapse of its economy.”

Oil, the lifeline of Libya’s economy, has long been a key factor in the civil war, as rival authorities jostle for control of oil fields and state revenue. Libya has the ninth largest known oil reserves in the world and the largest oil reserves in Africa.