Libyan rebels in Benghazi said they have created a new national oil company to replace the corporation controlled by leader Muammar Gaddafi and whose assets were frozen by the United Nations Security Council.
The Transitional National Council released a statement announcing the decision taken in a March 19 meeting to establish the "Libyan Oil Company as supervisory authority on oil production and policies in the country, based temporarily in Benghazi, and the appointment of an interim director general" of the company.
The Council also said it "designated the Central Bank of Benghazi as a monetary authority competent in monetary policies in Libya and the appointment of a governor to the Central Bank of Libya, with a temporary headquarters in Benghazi."
The Security Council adopted a resolution on March 17 that froze the foreign assets of the Libyan National Oil Corp and the Central Bank of Libya, both described in the text as "a potential source of funding" for Gaddafi's regime.
Libya holds Africa's largest oil reserve. Output has fallen to fewer than 400,000 barrels a day, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of the National Oil Corp, said on March 19. The country produced 1.59 million barrels a day in January, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Exports may be halted for "many months" because of sanctions and unrest.
Crude oil for April delivery increased $US1.26 to settle at $US102.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement since March 10. The April contract expires tomorrow. The more-actively traded May futures advanced $US1.24, or 1.2 per cent, to $US103.09.
Criminal court
The statement by the Transitional National Council also said the rebels would "urgently prepare a file on the referral of Gaddafi and his gang and his associates involved in the killing of Libyans to the International Criminal Court."
The Security Council referred allegations of human rights violations by the Gaddafi regime to the court in a resolution adopted on February 26.
The statement said the council would begin choosing ambassadors to foreign countries.
The UN said today that Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, who broke with the regime last month and said he was then representing the rebels, was no longer Libya's accredited ambassador. Ambassador Mohammed Shalgham, who also broke with the regime, similarly lost his accreditation when Gaddafi appointed former UN General Assembly President Abdussalam Treki as envoy to the world body.
Treki hasn't presented his credentials yet to Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, a prerequisite for officials taking the post.