Libya to face financial crisis due to oil blockade, Fayyez al-Sarraj

Libya’s Prime Minister Fayyez al-Sarraj has threatened that Libya will face a financial crisis in 2020 due to blockade of oil terminals and oil fields by groups supporting his opponent Khalifa Haftar.

The blockade has caused a decrease in Libya’s oil output since 18th January.

Al-Sarraj talked to reporters in the capital, “The continuation of the shutdowns will result in a catastrophic financial crisis,” He added, “Losses from the oil shutdowns have exceeded $1.4bn. The figure is increasing every day.”

According to the state-run National Oil Corporation, the output from crude oil has decreased to 163,684 barrels per day.

Libya was making 1.2 million BPD before the blockade. Oil is the major source of income for Libya.

Al-Sarraj said, “Certainly, in light of the continued closure of oil facilities, the 2020 budget will face a deficit and [it] will drop to its lowest levels,”

Haftar’s Libyan National Army aligned Al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which has been facing conflict as both want to control the capital.

Both continued fighting even when Russia and Turkey called for a ceasefire starting on 12th January and an international summit on Libya in Berlin on 19TH January that aimed to lessen international interference.

Forces loyal to Haftar has been controlling most of the country’s oil facilities.

Al-Sarraj warned that his opponent would only “prolong the war and create deeply rooted hatred that will be difficult to overcome”.

He commented after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Russia for handling the Libyan conflict “at the highest level” and promised to keep supporting Al-Sarraj’s GNA.