The Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) said Friday it was going to declare force majeure on Sunday at Zueitina and Hariga oil terminals in western Benghazi and Tobruk respectively.

The NOC said the decision came after they had seen that the oil storage tanks were still full and there was no way they could store more since Khalifa Haftar’s forces prevented legally contracted oil vessels from docking at the ports to export crude.

“Arabian Gulf Oil Company and Zueitina Oil Company took the needed measures to secure oil pipelines against damage and expected that Al-Sarir oil refinery would suspend work and thus limit fuel supplies inside Libya.” The NOC explained.

The NOC said the shutdown of oil terminals are crimes punishable by international and Libyan laws as they lose the country millions of dollars a day, explaining that declaring force majeure will lose Libya additional 350.000 bpd, bringing the total to 800.000 bpd and 60 million dollars a day.

“We urge the general command of Haftar to end the shutdown in oil ports as it would add to monetary setbacks in Libya.” The NOC added.

“We have always called for fair distribution of oil revenue and we as NOC have no authority to have a say in the budget making or distribution. It is an authority of budget committee of 2018 supervised by Presidential Council member Fathi Al-Mijibri.

Last Wednesday, oil tankers were prevented by Haftar’s Petroleum Facilities Guard from entering Hariga port as they had no contracts with Benghazi-based NOC, which announced on the same day its intention not to allow any vessel contracted by Tripoli’s NOC to ship oil.

SOURCE: Libya Herald