Internationald Libya is to cut off all its oil exports, Gadaffi tells paper

Press, 2 July 1979, Page 8

Internationald Libya is to cut off all its oil exports, Gadaffi tells paper

NZPA-Reuter Beirut The Libyan leader, Muammar Gadaffi, has decided to stop oil exports from his country, according to an interview published at the week-end.

"We shall stop producing nil — except what we need for our own domestic consumption — for two years, perhaps three or four.” the Arab weekly, "Al Mostakbal,” quoted Colonel Gadaffi ■$ saying.

The paper, which is published in Paris, said he made, the announcement in an interview last Monday with its : Damascus correspondent. The text of the interview was made available in Beirut. In an interview with -he American news magazine, "Newsweek," three weeks ago Colonel Gadaffi said that he was going to cut off oil exports to the United States. Libya supplies the United States with 10 per cent of its oil imports. Colonel Gadaffi did not sav when his decision would come into effect. But he gave the impression that it might be imminent.

After declaring that Libya would stop exporting oil for at least two years, he was quoted as saying: “That is far better for us. The more we store the oil in our grounds it will be better for us, rather than confronting the United States and the industrialised nations.

"Thus we can avoid all the problems they are creating

and the pressures they are! exercising.” Colonel Gadaffii was answering a question about oil production and prices and Libyan expectations from the Geneva conference of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which! ended last week with an announcement of higher prices. “The subject of oil production and oil prices has become tiring,” the Libvan i leader said “We are being held responsible for inflation i while those who are reallv i responsible are the indus- ' trialised nations and the international oil companies and, above all, the United States.” He said the United States , was responsible because of i the drop in the value of the ' dollar as compared with I other currencies. "The United States has thus caused the oil producers tremendous losses,” Colonel Gadaffi added.

Colonel Gadaffi was quoted as adding: “Besides, the continuous increase in the price of industrialised goods is crazy . . . We are unable to buy the goods we need to import without increasing the price of our oil.”

The Libyan leader is now

on a tour of Middle East countries, including Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. He made plain in the interview that he was urging other Arab exporters to join him in halting exports. “We, as well as the Arab States of the Gulf, do not need to increase oil production,” he said. “We must agree on producing strictly what we need for our domestic consumption only.” The Libyan leader said there were no big projects in the countries involved which would justify continuing production on a huge scale. “The credits available to us so far are enough to enable us to go on implementing our development projects and meet our needs for a few years,” he added. Colonel Gadaffi said his decision would result in counter-pressure on the industrial countries. “They will have to establish equitable relations between us and them. They have to evaluate us as we deserve even if we have to break all relations with them.

“Thus they will recover their wits and give up blackmailing us, bleeding us, and exploiting us in such an awful way,” he said.