“The situation, as you know, is not normal,” Ahmed Jerski, a company official from Sirte Oil Company, told AFP. “We’re running the refinery, but as for production, we’ve almost stopped.”
The company is producing about 9.500 barrels a day, compared to normal production levels at about 95,000 barrels per day.
Libya has been embroiled in a massive international effort to oust Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
“Violence around several of Libya’s oil ports and refinery hubs has made all crude exporting nearly impossible,” Bouba Mohy, a student at Al Fateh University in Tripoli, told Politically Illustrated. “Can Libya’s government survive without oil? Yeah.”
The concern for Libya’s oil supply comes after U.S. President Barack Obama again called for the resignation of Mr. Gaddafi after authorizing American military airlifts to help transport refugees from Libya.
“Muammar Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to lead, and he must leave,” Mr. Obama told reporters.
