CAIRO: Libya’s National Oil Corporation said on Friday that recent oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63 percent of the country’s total oil production, as a conflict between rival eastern and western factions continues.
The North African country’s oil blockade has widened, with eastern leaders demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor, a key position in a state where control over oil revenue is the biggest prize for all factions.
The crisis over control of the Central Bank of Libya threatens a new bout of instability in a major oil producer split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Turkiye and Russia.
Highlighting that the oil sector represents the backbone of the Libyan economy, NOC said restarting the halted oilfields will require huge costs and double technical efforts.
It said the reasons for the oil closure have “nothing to do” with the company, adding that its teams are assessing losses resulting from the closures.
The repeated shutdowns have resulted in the loss of a large portion of the country’s oil production, caused a deterioration of the sector’s infrastructure, and dissipated efforts to increase production, the NOC added in its statement.
Eastern factions have vowed to keep Libya’s oil output shuttered until the internationally recognized Presidency Council and Government of National Unity in Tripoli in the west return veteran central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kabir to his post.
Presidency Council chief Mohammed Al-Menfi said he was dismissing Kabir earlier this month, a move rejected by the eastern-based House of Representatives parliament and eastern commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.
Libya’s oil production plunges 63 percent due to oilfield closures, NOC says
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Libya’s oil production plunges 63 percent due to oilfield closures, NOC says
- The crisis over control of the Central Bank of Libya threatens a new bout of instability in a major oil producer
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
