(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) TRIPOLI - Libya's oil production has plunged by approximately three-quarters since forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar launched a blockade a week ago, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) has said.
The fall, from 1.2 million barrels per day to just over 320,000, has caused estimated losses of $256m since the closure of major oil fields and ports in the east and south of the country, the NOC said in a statement on Saturday.
Haftar, who controls the east and large swaths of the south, began an offensive in April last year to seize the capital, Tripoli, from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Pro-Haftar forces blockaded the main oil terminals in eastern Libya the day before an international summit in Berlin on January 19 that called for the end of foreign interference in the conflict and a resumption of the peace process.
The move to cripple the country's main income source was a protest against Turkey's decision to send military advisers and trainers to support the GNA. Haftar has had support from Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.
Exports were suspended at the ports of Brega, Ras Lanouf, Al-Sidra, Al-Hariga and Zweitina in the country's "oil crescent", the conduit for the majority of Libya's crude exports.
Oil production had already plummeted to less than 500,000 barrels per day between 2014 and 2016 due to fighting and attempts by rival factions to control the country's key resource. (Aljazeera)
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