In Libya, Tripoli based National Oil Corporation (NOC) has announced that it cancelled two oil cargoes from its export programme for this month as a result of the blockage of exports from the Marsa al-Hariga port by rival NOC.

According to NOC spokesman, Mohamed el-Harari, the rift between the two factions is making Libya lose $10 million per day and so far $120 million worth of revenue had been lost.

The Benghazi based NOC, in April, tried to export its first cargo of oil but the vessel was blacklisted by the United Nations (UN) and had no choice but to return, thereby worsening the standoff between the two NOCs.

Since then, Libya’s eastern government have blocked the Tripoli NOC’s tankers from loading crude to the Hariga port.

Due to this standoff, the country’s oil output dropped to more than 200,000 bpd compared to the 1.6 million bpd being produced before Muammer Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The Tripoli based NOC which is working in tandem with the new UN-backed unity government since March to revive oil output, has cautioned that output could drop further in May if crude oil is not exported and storage tanks are not filled up at Hariga as export from the port accounts for three quarter of Libya’s output and revenue.

“Importers or subsidies or perhaps both will have to be cut. Then shortages of fuel, electricity, food, medicines and mobile network coverages that people have been complaining about will really begin to bite,” Harari told Reuters.

Anita Fatunji