Libya could experience an acute fuel crisis during the coming days, especially in light of the long queues for petrol that have emerged over the past two days in Tripoli.
This comes despite the Brega Petroleum Marketing Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state National Oil Corporation (NOC), denying all reports of a fuel crisis in Tripoli. It attributed the videos circulated online showing long queues of vehicles at gas stations in Tripoli to the residents’ keenness to refuel their cars in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan.
The company also issued a statement to reassure citizens, claiming, “fuel is available, and supply operations are proceeding normally,” urging all Libyans not to be drawn into rumors.
The statement stressed that the company and its affiliated distribution companies will continue to supply petrol stations with fuel until the crisis ends.
However, local media quoted the Director of Operations at the Brega Oil Marketing Company in Tripoli, Hatem Bin Shaaban, as saying that the reason for the huge lines at the filling stations in the western region is due to the failure to reach a settlement with the Highway Service Company over internal disputes.
In press statements, Bin Shaaban explained that this company covers about 70% of the gas filling stations in the western region. This prompted citizens to go to Tripoli to refuel their vehicles. He stressed that they are working to solve the fuel shortage crisis as soon as possible.
Libya’s oil sector is the country’s main source of income and has suffered tremendously due to numerous attacks on its oil fields and ports.
Last week, Libya’s NOC announced that the production of crude oil amounted to 1,203,000 barrels.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.