On Wednesday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced that the total losses resulting from the closure of oil ports, during the period between the 18th of January and the 12th of August, had reached $8.22 billion.
The NOC confirmed that this is a result of a 208-day blockade of the country’s oil ports. The Corporation reiterated its call to lift the blockade, so that its international partners can provide more support in countering the spread of COVID-19.
The chairman of the NOC, Mustafa Sanallah, warned in a video message published on the NOC website, of the presence of stored flammable chemicals, and other petroleum products at the country’s main oil export terminals. These add a risk potentially greater than last week’s explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
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 biggest oil reserves in Africa. Libya has been marred in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled and killed long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi.