On Friday, Italy welcomed the announcement by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) regarding the lifting of force majeure and the resumption of its work, stressing that this constitutes an “important first step” towards the full recovery of oil production throughout Libya.
In a statement, the Italian embassy in Libya said that the oil shutdown caused “great harm to Libyan funding and the conditions of the people,” considering the NOC’s announcement to represent “a basic condition for Libya to continue on the path of stability and calm set by the Berlin process, under the auspices of the United Nations”.
The embassy stressed its continued support for the Libyan efforts and the efforts of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) towards the goal of a fair and transparent distribution of the country’s resources, for the exclusive benefit and interest of the Libyan people.
Earlier the National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced to lift the force majeure on all oil exports from Libya, pointing out that the gradual increase in production will take a long time as a result of the severe damage to the reservoirs and infrastructure resulting from the oil blockade imposed since January 2020.
It is noteworthy that the French embassy in Libya has also welcomed the NOC’s announcement, expressing its rejection to the militarisation of oil facilities in Libya.