(Reuters) - A rebel group in eastern Libya has agreed with the
government to end its seizure of vital oil ports within days, a senior
leader told Reuters on Tuesday, raising hopes for an end to an
eight-month stalemate that has dried up state income and fuelled chaos.
There
was no immediate comment from the Tripoli government which has been
trying since summer to end the blockage of three eastern ports, which
previously accounted for more than 600,000 barrels a day of oil exports.
The
oil conflict is just one aspect of the turmoil in the OPEC producer
where the weak central government is unable to control militias that
helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but refuse to disarm and are
trying to grab a share of power or oil wealth.
Still, markets are
likely to remain skeptical about whether the oil ports will finally
reopen after a similar deal fell through in December at the last minute.
Talks
with the eastern rebels had moved forward after the U.S. Navy captured a
tanker that had loaded oil at a rebel port, killing the hopes of rebel
leaders to sell crude bypassing Tripoli and pressuring them to agree on a
deal.
The government had earlier met a rebel demand by releasing
three of its fighters who had boarded the tanker at Es Sider, one of
three ports seized by the group in August to press for autonomy and a
greater share of oil wealth.
"The oil port issue will be solved
within days," Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the
rebel group, said. "We agreed on all issues with the government in
Tripoli."
A government delegation would visit the group's home
base Ajdabiya in eastern Libya within two days to hammer out the
details, he told Reuters by phone. He gave no details.
The group's
top leader Ibrahim Jathran had minutes earlier told a rebel television
station his group had reached a solution benefiting the people of
Cyrenaica, the east's historic name, and "all honorable Libyans".
"This
agreement will upset all those who don't want the good for Libya and
its people but it will make happy all national thinking Libyans. That's
important for us. That's what we strive for," Jathran said in a speech
lasting eight minutes.
He gave no details or date but swapped his
often martial tone for a more conciliatory one, addressing "all Libyans"
and stressing the need for consensus and stability.
Jathran
repeated the rebel demands for giving the east a share of oil and
combating oil corruption but also talked about reaching out to all
regions and cities to build a stable Libya.
MODERATE TONE
Western
powers worry the conflict over oil will fuel instability or even break
up the vast desert country as many in the east complain of decades of
neglect at the hand of western cities such as the capital Tripoli or the
main port Misrata.
Jathran mentioned his group's desire to
reinstate the 1951 constitution from the era of King Idris, who had
preceded Gaddafi, and introduced a federalist system sharing power
between regions.
But compared to other speeches, Jathran focused this time on dialogue.
"This
night I'm addressing the people of Libya as a whole to talk about some
truths and announce some joyous issues not only for Cyrenaica but the
whole of Libya," a clean-shaven Jathran said, dressed in a suit and tie -
in contrast to his days as rebel commander while fighting Gaddafi in
2011, when he wore a military uniform and sported a beard.
Jathran, who is in his early 30s, did not mention a previous demand to the government to return the oil tanker.
A
deal, if confirmed, would not necessarily end the shutdown of several
oilfields in western Libya by a different set of protesters.
In
contrast to the east, protesters at western oil facilities such as the
closed El Sharara field are divided into in small groups with different
demands and lacking joint leadership.
Output has fallen to around
150,000 bpd from 1.4 million bpd in July when a wave of protests started
across Libya. The loss of oil revenues has triggered the worst budget
crisis for decades with the central bank burning through its reserves to
keep the country afloat.
CHAOS
With no real army, Libyan
authorities are struggling to control militias and armed tribesmen who
helped to oust Gaddafi in the 2011 civil war but have become political
players controlling territory and seizing oil facilities at will.
On Monday, Libya's attorney general ordered the release of three rebel fighters in a gesture to the rebels.
Three
weeks ago, the rebel militia embarrassed Tripoli by loading crude onto a
tanker named "Morning Glory". U.S. special forces troops later stormed
the ship in international waters and returned it to Libya.
Government and the parliament had told the rebels to negotiate an end to their port blockade or face a military offensive.
But
government officials and key lawmakers have stopped talking about
military action for more than a week, paving the way for more talks.
The army would have struggled to tackle Jathran's forces anyway as they are battle-hardened from the civil war.
The
rebel television station showed Jathran's men giving the three fighters
heroes' welcomes after they arrived at Benghazi airport. Dozens of
vehicles accompanied them from the eastern city to Ajdabiya, as fighters
fired their Kalashnikovs into the air.
His forces and other
militias refuse to surrender their weapons and often use force or
control of oil facilities to make demands on a state whose army is still
being trained by Western governments.
Those governments, which
backed NATO air strikes to help the 2011 anti-Gaddafi revolt, are
pressing the factions to reach a political settlement. But Libya has
lurched from crisis to crisis over the last year.
Oil production has fallen to a trickle due to the port seizures and protests at major oil fields.
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing, Ahmed Elumami, Ayman al-Warfalli and Feras Bosalum; editing by Andrew Roche)
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