Libya’s prime minister is reaching out for international help amid political turmoil and stunted oil exportation which has cost the country $130 million a day.
Ali Zeidan met with Britain’s David Cameron Tuesday, as Libya continues to be mired in post-Western intervention disarray following the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The overthrow has not yielded a conciliatory political climate as many had hoped.
Violence, militias and political activists have cut off most of
Libya’s oil fields and ports since July, overwhelming the
government’s young army and police force.
"If the international community does not help in the
collection of arms and ammunition, if we don't get help in
forming the army and the police, things are going to take very
long," Zeidan said while speaking at a Libya investment
conference in London. "The situation is not going to improve
unless we get real and practical assistance."
Zeidan told Cameron he’d like to reduce the number of arms
flowing through Libya, while peacefully reaching out to militia
members in an effort to provide support.
"We are going to work on solving this problem," he said.
"When blood is shed, the loss will be greater.”
Libyan officials said oil production has opened more in the west,
but still remains stunted in the east.
The General National Congress has negotiated with an armed group
to reopen the El Sharara oilfield. Disruptions in production have
cost the country and partners $7.5bn, a board member at the
National Oil Company said.
The renewal of El Sharara is expected to increase Libyan oil
production to 400,000-450,000 barrels per day (bpd), Libya's
deputy oil minister Omar Shakmak told Reuters.
Nevertheless, major energy companies are reducing operations in
Libya. ExxonMobil is cutting back its involvement in Libyan oil
production, saying increased instability is not worth a large
presence.
Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned exploration on two Libya blocks,
and Marathon is pondering the sale of its part in a major Libyan
oil consortium, sources said in July.