Libya’s state oil firm confirms recapture of oil terminals by Haftar’s forces

The Chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah confirmed on Friday that Khalifa Haftar’s so-called “Libyan National Army (LNA)” had regained control of the key oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Sidra, saying he hoped operations would resume in the “next couple of days”.

Sanalla said Libya had been losing 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production after clashes between the self-styled army of Haftar and rival factions of the central branch of Petroleum Facilities Guard led by Ibrahim Jodran.

A minor fire that broke out at a third storage tank in Ras Lanuf on Thursday had been extinguished and the situation was good, Sanallah told reporters ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna.

On Thursday Haftar announced the Holy Invasion Operation to recapture oil terminals from Joran’s forces. He managed to so in the early hours of the day but later lost control again as Jodran’s forces re-adavnced on the terminals and surrounding towns.

Shortly after that, Haftar’s forces on the ground advanced under a heavy drone strikes’ cover – reportedly UAE: according to local media – and managed to recapture both Sidra and Ras Lanuf oil ports.