As of 8 March, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said current oil production was 114,331 bpd, down from 119,867 bpd on 4 March, with cumulative losses of $2.93 billion since 17 January. The NOC stressed that while it continues to supply hydrocarbons to all regions in sufficient quantities to meet the transport and domestic needs of citizens ‘for now’, some fuel storage levels are running low and next week some areas are at risk of shortages. The economic and logistical impacts of the oil blockade will be increasingly felt in Libya in the coming weeks, yet there are no immediate signs that these negative trends have affected popular support for the oil blockade in eastern Libya. The significant drop in the global price of oil in the last week, combined with increased supply and decreased demand, means that meaningful international pressure on Haftar to end the strike is unlikely to be forthcoming in the short term. In short, the oil blockade is likely to remain in place for at least the coming month, and may be in place for several months.
Oil production drops to 114,331, with losses of $2.93 billion and fuel shortages