Libya militants start exporting crude oil*

Press TV
Demanding a share of Libya’s oil revenues, the militants controlling oil ports in the eastern part of the country say they have begun exporting crude oil in defiance of the central government.

On Saturday, the militants said they had loaded crude oil onto a North Korean-flagged tanker, dubbed the Morning Glory which docked at the eastern Libyan oil terminal of al-Sidra early in the morning.
The armed militants also warned the central government against planning any attack to halt their independent oil sale.
The government-controlled National Oil Corporation (NOC) also confirmed that North Korean-flagged tanker had docked. However, it was unknown whether the tanker had loaded any crude oil.
The Libyan Oil Ministry has denounced the move as an “act of piracy,” saying it violates the country’s national sovereignty. Tripoli had earlier said it would destroy any vessels attempting to purchase crude from the militants.
Tripoli has made efforts to end a wave of protests at oil ports and fields across the country that have slashed oil output to 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.4 million bpd in July.

Libya heavily relies on its key oil and gas sector, which accounts for the vast majority of hard currency receipts and government revenues, and the disruptions to the sector have badly influenced its economy.