Oil Blockades Cost Libya $130 Billion, Finance Minister Says

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)…