(Bloomberg) -- Libya’s National Oil Corp. declared force majeure for oil exports from five ports in territory controlled by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, saying blockades by his forces will cut national oil output by more than half.
The show of force comes as Haftar prepares to attend an international conference in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the general will face pressure to agree to a cease-fire in the country’s civil war. Haftar, whose troops have surrounded the capital city of Tripoli, has so far refused efforts to end his offensive and agree to a compromise.
The export blockage will cause the loss of 800,000 barrels of daily output at a cost of about $55 million per day, the NOC said in a statement Saturday.
Operators involved with Brega, Ras Lanuf, Hariga, Zueitina and Sidra ports had all received instructions from Haftar’s Libyan National Army’s general command and the Petroleum Facilities Guard of the central and eastern Region to freeze shipments, the NOC said.
(Add peace conference in second paragraph)
To contact the reporter on this story: Salma El Wardany in Cairo at selwardany@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net
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