Libya Rebel Group Calls on Tankers to Load Oil from Occupied Port

A Libyan rebel group is escalating a standoff with Tripoli by calling on tanker owners to lift oil at a port it has occupied and ignore a central government ban on such loading.

The move comes after Libyan officials at state-run National Oil Corp. said Monday the navy had stopped a tanker the previous day from loading at the Es Sider terminal. The government has banned shippers from lifting oil at several ports in eastern Libya , including Es Sider, after they fell under the control of a rebel militia seeking autonomy for its region, Cyrenaica .

A letter stamped the "Government of Cyrenaica," which has been circulated to the Libyan oil sector and seen by The Wall Street Journal, says: "We will fully ensure the security...[of any] tanker that will enter Libyan waters for oil lifting in the port" of Es Sider.

The document, dated Tuesday and bearing the heading of the previously unknown Libyan Oil & Gas Corp., says any warning by National Oil Co. or the central government "is not considered as applicable to Cyrenaica ."

An assistant to Ibrahim Jathran, the head of the rebel militia, confirmed the authenticity of the document.

The assistant said the "Government of Cyrenaica" was entitled to sell the oil and was lifting what it said was its own force majeure.

But National Oil Co. spokesman Mohammed el-Hariri said the rebels "only represent themselves."

He warned any tanker approaching occupied ports without a permit from National Oil Co. would be stopped by the Libyan navy. "We ask all companies to deal with the Libyan government, not to deal with other entities," he said.

Libyan oil production has dropped sharply since the militia took over several ports on the country's eastern coast four months ago. Despite the country's oil output hitting 546,000 barrels a day Tuesday, production remains well below its normal level of 1.5 million barrels day.