|
 Crude revenues are at the heart of a battle for control of the North
African OPEC producer that has pitted the two rival governments
against each other in a growing conflict, four years after the civil
war ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
On Sunday, a suicide bomber struck at a checkpoint near the
Tripoli-allied town of Misrata, killing at least six people and
wounding 40 more, according to a local news agency.
Thinni, based in the eastern city of Al-Bayda, announced late on
Saturday he had authorized his internationally recognized
government's oil corporation to open a separate bank account in the
United Arab Emirates for oil revenues and to seek independent oil
sales.
Until now oil sales and revenues have gone through Libya's central
bank and National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, where a rival
administration took over last summer. The Tripoli-based NOC has
tried to stay out of the conflict between the rival governments.
Analysts say Thinni's government will struggle to convince
international traders it is legally entitled to claim ownership of
Libyan crude.
"The purpose of opening a bank account in the United Arab Emirates
is the collection ... of oil revenues," Al-Mabrook Bou Seif, head of
Thinni's NOC in eastern Libya, told Reuters.
He said any revenues from sales would be transferred from there to a
central bank branch in Al-Bayda. He said several foreign partners
had been contacted but gave no details.
Officials from the Tripoli-based state firm, also known as NOC, were
not immediately available to comment on the plan.
Thinni's government also plans to open representative offices of its
NOC in the United States, Britain and Germany, and carry out swaps
of Libyan crude for refined products and fuel to provide basic
supplies.
COMPLICATIONS
Oil experts say it will be difficult for Thinni to assert more
control on the sector as this would likely require adjusting
contracts with Libya's clients. Thousands of maps, documents and
contracts are at the NOC headquarters in Tripoli.
[to top of second column] |
Libya now produces around 600,000 barrels of crude per day, less
than half the 1.6 million bpd it produced before the fall of
Gaddafi. Several oil ports and major fields have been closed by
fighting but the two biggest oil ports, Ras Lanuf and Es Sider with
a combined capacity of 600,000 bpd, may open soon.
Seeking separate oil transactions, though, may exacerbate the
conflict with the Tripoli administration.
On Sunday, war planes allied to Thinni's government carried out
airstrikes on the outskirts of Tripoli, an air force spokesman said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Introducing a new payment mechanism would also mean breaking up the
central bank system, the only source of hard currency for importers
and one of the last institutions left untouched by the rival
governments' power struggle. It still pays public salaries across
the country.
(Reporting by Firas Bosalum; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by
Tom Heneghan)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
