Since the closure of the oil installations by Haftar’s militias, on January 17, two days before the Berlin International Conference on resolving the crisis in Libya, under false pretenses for the unfair distribution of revenues, it caused tampering with the Libyan economy and worsened the living conditions of citizens in Libya.
The National Oil Corporation had previously held Haftar’s militias responsible for the closure of oil and its repercussions on the country’s national economy, warning that the continued closure will exacerbate the economic crisis.
The tampering with of the country’s capabilities by Haftar has led to high material losses; Due to the suspension of production and exports until the losses approached $ 10 billion, which led to the stoppage of gas to power plants in the Eastern Region, and thus increased hours of loads distribution for the citizens, lack of fuel supplies, and an increase in the queue of citizens at the fuel stations.
Al-Mismari contradictions
Haftar’s spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari contradicted himself in a statement, on Sunday, following the eastern cities’ protests against the poor living situation, saying, “We are following all these fabricated crises and it is the right of the Libyans to enjoy the capabilities of their country.”
Al-Mismari tried to wriggle from the fact that Haftar is the one behind these crises , as a result of his intransigence in opening the oil, and tried to be elusive in his speech, blaming the corrupt, he apparently does not realize that the whole world knows who is behind the shut down.
10 billion Barrier
The National Oil Corporation said that the losses of the closure of oil fields and ports since last January have approached the barrier of 10 billion dollars after 240 days of closure.
National Oil Corporation said, on its official page, that those closures prevented all national refineries from operating due to the suspension of oil production for a period of eight continuous months, and the production of gas used to generate electric power was also stopped, forcing the Corporation to import diesel for power plants and depleting budgets, and they did all this within The global Corona-virus pandemic without any thought of the consequences of this criminal act on the Libyan people.
Pledge of personal commitment
And as per the Corporation’s statements, which openly accuse Haftar of shutting down the main source of revenue for Libyans, the US Embassy in Libya confirmed that Haftar made a personal commitment to re-produce and export oil no later than September 12th.
In a statement, Saturday, the embassy welcomed the Libyan parties’ agreement to reopen oil, at a time when Libyans are suffering from a severe crisis in the electricity sector stemming from the forced closure of oil and gas production, while they are facing the Corona pandemic.
The embassy said that reliable guarantees will enable all Libyans to be fully confident that oil and gas revenues will not be misappropriated.
The embassy stressed the need to achieve security arrangements for oil installations that lead to the complete withdrawal of foreign military personnel and equipment in oil and gas sites without Libyan approval.
