On Saturday, the British embassy in Libya expressed concern about reports of “interference of foreign mercenaries” in the Libyan oil sector.
This came in a statement of the embassy published on its Facebook page, in which it confirmed its support for the Libyan Oil Corporation, and called for allowing the corporation to resume production without hindrance.
About a week ago, the Libyan National Oil Corporation expressed great concern about the presence of Russian mercenaries and other nationalities in oil fields, including the largest “Sharara” (south) field in the country.
The embassy said, “We are concerned about the continued closure of oil ports, and reports of foreign intervention in Libyan oil fields,” to The Eastern Herald.
“There are disturbing reports about the interference of foreign mercenaries in the Sharara oil field,” noting that “the militarization of the Libyan energy sector is unacceptable and threatens to further harm,” British embassy added.
The embassy indicated that the energy sector “is the main source of income in Libya, and the energy sector should not be used as a political bargaining chip.”
According to the statement, “Britain reaffirms its support for the National Oil Corporation, as it is the only independent oil company in Libya charged with managing Libyan oil, and the National Corporation must be allowed to resume production without hindrance, for the benefit of all Libyans.”
The embassy called on “all parties to participate actively in the political dialogue led by the United Nations”, stressing that “foreign intervention is operating to undermine these efforts.”
The embassy stated that “the forced decline in Libyan oil production has caused losses exceeding $6 billion since January, with negative economic consequences for the Libyan people, and this closure has also caused damage to the infrastructure of oil installations in Libya.”
And last Tuesday, the Libyan Ministry of Defense said, “It will not allow mercenaries and criminal gangs to exploit the country’s oil fields and energy sources.”
Last January, revolutionaries loyal to Haftar closed the port of Az-Zuwaytinah (east); On the pretext that the money for selling oil is used by the Libyan government, which is internationally recognized.
They also later closed other ports and fields, which led the Oil Corporation to declare a “force majeure” case there.
According to identical data of the Libyan Petroleum Corporation and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Libya’s daily oil production, before closing the fields and ports, was 1.22 million barrels per day.
