The frequent oil blockades in Libya over the past few years have cost the country a total of US$130 billion in lost revenues, Finance Minister Faraj Boumtari told Al-Jazeera on Thursday. Libya’s oil industry has been plagued by on-and-off blockades as rival factions have been fighting for control over areas in Libya and its oil terminals and ports since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The most recent blockade in Libya, between January and the middle of September, has cost Libya almost US$10 billion, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said , describing it as “a devastating loss most especially during this period of national crisis.” The head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Khalifa Haftar, whose troops, with help from affiliated groups, had blockaded Libya’s oil ports in January, announced the end of the blockade on September 18. NOC started to gradually lift force majeure on some […]