Shakmak said the shutdown of the ports had had a “severe impact” on revenues in the second half of 2013. He said Libya had lost more than $8 billion in revenues in that time. “The deficit continued in the first quarter of 2014 and the proportion of income earned in accordance with the budget was just 16% in January,” he said. “In February, it was the same percentage or less, so there is no doubt of the importance of oil as a source of funding for the Libyan people,” he said. Al-Thani took over as prime minister on Tuesday after the country’s highest political authority, the GNC, ousted former PM Ali Zeidan. Zeidan was sacked after a vote of no confidence that followed the news that the Libyan navy had failed to contain an oil tanker carrying an “illegal” cargo of Es Sider crude, which managed to escape the […]