Tripoli, 10 March 2014:
The US Department of State has said those behind the illegal loading of oil from Es-sider risk civil . . .[restrict]liability, penalties and potential sanctions.
The North Korean-flagged tanker Morning Glory docked at the Es-sider oil export terminal on Saturday. It has since reportedly loaded some 230,000 barrels of oil, purchased from federalists groups operating under Ibrahim Jadhran, who seized control of three eastern ports in August last year.
“This action is counter to law and amounts to theft from the Libyan people,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said. The oil belonged to the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) and its joint venture partners, Psaki said, pointing out these included US companies in the Waha Oil Company consortium.
“Any oil sales without authorisation from these parties places purchasers at risk of exposure to civil liability, penalties and other possible sanctions in multiple jurisdictions,” she said.
Three US companies – ConocoPhillips, Hess and Marathon Oil – have a 41 percent stake in Waha Oil Company. NOC holds the remainder. [/restrict]
