Libyan Oil Minister, Mohamed Aoun criticized a proposal for the international management of Libya’s oil. He described this proposal as “detracting from national sovereignty.”
In a press statement to France 24, Aoun said that he welcomed the assistance of the United Nations and Western countries to help Libya end the crisis. Simultaneously, he opposed those seeking to address the Libyan crisis, as was the case in Iraq, through the controversial “Oil for Food,” program.
Aoun blamed the crisis on foreign interference in Libya’s affairs. “The countries that overthrew the previous regime continued their interference, and our state hasn’t been built after that. This was admitted by former US President, Barack Obama,” Aoun explained.
“These countries had to help Libya because it is difficult to build a state in the midst of the collapse of the army, the police, and the rest of the state institutions,” he noted.
He added that “loyalists to foreign parties are the main problem of the Libyan state.”
Aoun also discussed the losses emanating from the closure of oil facilities, estimated at about $60 million dollars per day. He denied Libya’s ability to compensate for the shortage in the global energy market, whether oil or natural gas. He stated that Libya needs “five or six years to increase its production.”
On Sunday, Libya’s Oil Ministry said in a statement that the closed oil fields will reopen within days. This comes after protesters closed vital fields in the east of the country.
Oil Minister, Mohamed Aoun met tribal leaders and discussed the closures. These have caused Libya’s daily output to fall by around 550,000 barrels.
The statement added that they are in the process of reaching a final agreement, that would put an end to the recent closures.
Aoun claimed daily losses amount to between $50-70 million dollars a day, due to the closure of a number of oil fields.