Libya's parliament speaker warns of oil blockade

The speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament has warned of a possible oil blockade over an attempt to replace the central bank governor.

"Replacing the governor in the current situation may result in shutting down oil and stopping the transfer of its revenues to the central bank," said Aguila Saleh, whose parliament is supported by eastern-based general Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA).

The LNA has imposed several politically motivated oil blockades in the past few years, which have wiped out huge chunks of Libya's nominal 1.2mn b/d of crude production. The LNA ordered the shutdown of the El Sharara field earlier this month, resulting in around 250,000 b/d being shut in. Libya's current output is around 1mn b/d.

Libya's Tripoli-based Presidential Council issued an order on 18 August to replace central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir, who has resisted efforts to remove him. Libya's oil export revenues flow into the central bank, making it one of the country's most powerful institutions.

The UN's Libya mission on 22 August called for the dispute to be resolved peacefully. The mission "expresses grave concerns about reports of mobilisation of forces in Tripoli, including the threats to use force to resolve the crisis surrounding the Central Bank of Libya," it said.

Libya is politically fragmented, with armed groups propping up rival administrations in the east and west. The move against al-Kabir threatens to destabilise a fragile peace that has held since 2020, when eastern and western based military forces reached a ceasefire agreement.

By Aydin Calik