German FM Calls for End to Oil Blockade in Libya: NOC

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the need for an immediate end to the blockade of oil facilities in Libya at a meeting in Tripoli on Monday.

NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla met Maas and they discussed the economic and environmental damage of the blockade, NOC said in a statement. Maas stressed “the need for immediate end to the blockade and Germany’s support for NOC’s efforts to restore production,” the statement said.

Factions loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar began the blockade of oil terminals and fields on Jan. 18, gradually reducing national output to less than 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from around 1.2 million bpd.