U.S. says Libyan rebels may sell oil (Reuters)

Monday, March 28, 2011 5:01 PM By dwi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on weekday gave a naif reddened to income of African vulgar lubricator from rebel-held territory, gift a potential increase to forces battling Muammar Gaddafi.

A U.S. Treasury Department authorised said African rebels would not be person to U.S. sanctions if they avoid entities linked to Gaddafi's regime, which would earmark them to delude lubricator low their control.

"The rebels are not conception of the polity of Libya. They are not person to the sanctions," the authorised said.

But the rebels, who retook a number of lubricator fields and terminals in orient Libya over the weekend and were advancing westerly toward Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, must prototypal found land lines of curb and payment systems that do not refer Libya's National Oil Corp, its bicentric slope nor whatever another polity entity, the authorised said.

U.N. diplomats echoed these sentiments, helping boost explain the position of rebel-held oil, which could wage alive revenues to forces disagreeable to topple Gaddafi.

"There is no U.N. embargo on African oil," a U.N. Security Council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The rebels crapper delude oil. But they can't do it finished the African National Oil Corporation."

No primary permission would be necessary from the Security Council's Libya sanctions committee, which oversees compliance with the sanctions, for the rebels to delude oil, envoys said.

The Treasury on Feb 25 illegal U.S. transactions with Libya's land lubricator producer, the bicentric slope and another land entities in an effort to revilement soured revenues to Gaddafi's regime, in distinction with sanctions imposed by the U.N. and European Union.

It later place another 14 subsidiaries of the National Oil Corp, or NOC, on its blacklist, which also seeks to withhold whatever Gaddafi program assets low U.S. jurisdiction.

With the backing of Western expose strikes, African rebels hit retaken the main lubricator tangency cities in orient Libya, including Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega, Zueitina and Tobruk.

A senior African protest authorised said on weekday that rebels were in "active discussions" to hit sanctions raised on income of lubricator from easterly African fields.

Ali Tarhouni, who is in calculate of the rebels' economic, financial and lubricator matters in metropolis said the fields were confident of pumping 100,000 to 130,000 barrels per period of crude, and most of this would be exported because of low processing power in orient Libya. Before the crisis began, Libya was producing most 1.6 million barrels per day.

"We hope they module be raised for the liberated areas as quickly as possible," Tarhouni said of the sanctions. "Not with everybody, but with whatever countries."

QATAR MARKETING PLAN

Tarhouni said he hoped the prototypal shipment associated with a organisation to mart rebel-held vulgar finished Gulf lubricator shaper peninsula could happen within a hebdomad but whatever "technical details" requirement to be worked out.

The U.S. Treasury authorised declined to comment on the African protest plan. peninsula became the prototypal Semite land to discern the rebels as the African people's legitimate representative.

The protest successes against Gaddafi's forces pushed lubricator prices lower. Brent vulgar futures fell 79 cents to resolve at $114.80 a barrel.

The U.S. authorised stressed that the Treasury has not altered whatever of the sanctions on Gaddafi's regime, which refer freezes on more than $32 billion in assets. But the sanctions do not administer to African entities that are right of the polity and right of Gaddafi's control.

One of the operative subsidiaries subjected to sanctions but dominated by rebels is Benghazi-based Arabian Gulf Oil Co, or Agoco. Its position remained unclear on Monday, but the Treasury had mitt the entranceway unstoppered to a doable lifting of sanctions when it place this exploration, creation and processing organisation on the blacklist.

"Treasury module move monitoring the National Oil Corporation's reciprocation in Libya," it said at the time. "Should National Oil Corporation subsidiaries or facilities become low assorted ownership and control, Treasury haw study authorizing reciprocation with much entities."

It could ready the sanctions in place, but supply licenses that earmark firms to transact business with certain operative subsidiaries.

A U.N. Security Council diplomat told Reuters that Agoco was "most likely" person to U.N. sanctions in constituent to U.S. and EU measures. However, he said that it would probably be doable to "work something out" so the rebels could delude their oil, much as by creating a new lubricator export company.

MANY RISKS

Although the clouds over rebel-held lubricator haw be starting to land from a sanctions standpoint, there are some practical hurdling to lubricator traders weight up tankers.

Marathon Oil Corp., which has the maximal African proximity of whatever U.S. consort with 18.8 percent of its amount creation reaching from there, said it is not currently lifting vulgar lubricator from Libya presented the political and civil unrest, and has no boost comment.

Its Waha assent is settled in the Sirte basin. Rebel forces were pushing westerly into that location on Monday.

Trading sources told Reuters they did not think the latest developments would easily release Libya's lubricator trade, which has been suspended for weeks due to sanctions and onerous fighting.

Firms purchase vulgar would hit to be absolutely trusty that they are not violating whatever sanctions before they travel and found land title to the oil, traders said. Finding ship owners and insurers willing to appendage cargoes worth tens of jillions of dollars haw be difficult.

"We requirement to see who we are trading with, what variety of consort is selling crude, who controls it, who manages it," a dealer with a major lubricator consort said.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz in Benghazi, gladiator Charbonneau at the United Nations, Anna Driver in New Orleans, Ikuko Kurahone and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Leslie Adler, Dan Grebler, Diane Craft and saint Hay)


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