Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement on Friday that losses resulting from a blockade on Libya’s major oil facilities and ports have surpassed 622 million dollars.
Protesters loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar shut down pipelines and major oil ports earlier in January, leading to a halt in production and exports from these facilities.
NOC said oil production in Libya has reached 288,945 barrels per day on Jan. 29, down from more than 1 million barrels produced on Jan. 18 when the blockade began.
The NOC called for all blockades to be lifted to allow production to resume immediately, as storage tanks in western and southern regions are facing supply shortages due to the deteriorating security situation.
Oil exports are the main source of national income for Libya.
Libya has been in turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Moamer Gaddafi and has become a battleground for rival proxy forces.
Haftar, backed by Russia, control large parts of eastern and southern Libya.
He has been trying to capture the capital Tripoli from the UN-backed government, led by Fayez Serraj, since April.
Turkey supports Serraj’s government and has dispatched troops to bolster it.
The blockade on oil facilities was imposed ahead of an international conference on Libya in Berlin that aimed to turn a fragile ceasefire into a durable cessation of hostilities.
