Libya: Rebels must wait to produce crude

Libyan rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi will not be able to produce more crude oil for at least another four weeks and are taking steps to conserve precious supplies of fuel and money, the top oil official in the breakaway east said.

The rebels need to repair equipment to pump oil from two key fields in the rebel-controlled east, Messla and Sarir, that were damaged in fighting, said Wahid Bughaigis, who serves as oil minister for the rebels.

“We just finished the assessment, and we are in the process of mobilising the repairs,” Mr Bughaigis told reporters in Benghazi, the de facto capital of the rebel-held east.

“We believe we need a minimum of four weeks to get back on stream.”

Opec-member Libya sits on Africa’s largest proven oil reserves. But Libyan exports have largely disappeared from the international market since the uprising began, helping drive oil prices to their highest levels in more than two years.

Earlier this month, the Gulf state of Qatar helped rebels complete the sale of one million barrels of crude that netted roughly $129m (€88.5m) for the anti-Gaddafi forces.

But Mr Bughaigis said he believed the rebels have spent much of that money on things like imported petrol.

“To put things in perspective, one cargo of gasoline of 25,000 metric tons costs us $75m (€51.4m), so you don’t go far with $129m (€88.5m),” he said.

Petrol is sold at highly subsidised prices in eastern Libya. But Mr Bughaigis said the rebels may have to re-examine whether the current consumption is sustainable.

“If it was only up to me, I would certainly put some rationing into the system, but we don’t want to give any satisfaction to Mr Gaddafi,” said Mr Bughaigis. “We want to show him we can run the country.”