By Benoit Faucon
Libya's National Oil Co. on Thursday warned against attempts to
sell its crude oil illegally, amid mounting chaos in the oil
industry.
The news come after a string of attacks by purported members of
the Islamic State against oil fields in the center of the country,
which has already been rocked by a civil war between two rival
governments.
In a statement posted on its website, NOC said it had obtained
"reliable sources of information in the oil market that some
middlemen and brokers of unknown orientation were offering amounts
of Libyan crude oil" without its approval.
The state-run company, which has remained neutral in the
conflict, threatened legal action at home and abroad against any
buyer, referring to existing export bans from shutdown terminals
Ras Lanuf and Sidra. The two eastern Libyan ports are controlled by
oil guards loyal to warlord Ibrahim Jadran.
Libya, once a stable oil supplier to southern Europe, has been
rocked by armed attacks and sabotage, and is producing about
500,000 barrels a day--about a third of its normal production.
But in positive piece of news, an NOC spokesman said Eni SpA's
(E) el-Feel field in western Libya was operating normally. However,
he didn't say how much oil--if any--was flowing out from the
facility, which once produced 80,000 barrels a day but was shut
down in the fall following a militia attack.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
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