UN welcomes reopening of major Libyan oilfields

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Monday welcomed the reopening of two major oilfields which were closed by tribal leaders in January to protest against the UN-backed government.

The UNSMIL said in a statement that it "welcomes the opening of the Sharara and El Feel oil fields this weekend. The oil blockade has needlessly cost the Libyan people over $5 billion due to lost oil sales as well as millions of dollars of indirect losses due to the shutdown of domestic refineries and damage caused by the oil infrastructure remaining idle."

"The blockade should be fully lifted across the country. Oil and other natural resources should not, in any way, shape or form, be instrumentalized as part of the conflict," the statement said.

The mission called on all Libyan parties to avoid damaging oil infrastructure or impeding staff of the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) from conducting their official duties, stressing that the NOC is Libya's sole and legitimate oil company.

"Libya's natural resources belong to all Libyans and their exploitation is vital to maintaining the country's economy, particularly given the need to address the COVID-19 pandemic," the mission said.