Libya Stops Swiss Oil Deliveries

Libyan oil deliveries to Switzerland have been halted by the government, the Libyan oil company Tamoil has said.

"Libya has requested the company to halt all oil deliveries to Switzerland," Tamoil CEO Issam Zanati commented.

"It is a decision of Libya and not Tamoil," he said.

Zanati was unable to say how suspension would last or why the decision was taken.

Libyan authorities declined to comment.

Libya threatened to halt oil deliveries after the son of Libyan leader Moamar Kahdafi, Hannibal, was arrested in Switzerland in July along with his wife after two servants claimed they had been abused by the couple.

The threat was not carried out and Swiss prosecutors closed the case last month after the two former servants, who received compensation from the couple, dropped their assault charges.

A halt in Libyan deliveries would not affect supplies or prices in Switzerland as distributors would have ample time to find other suppliers, the head of the country's oil companies association, Rolf Hartl, told the Swiss news agency ATS.

Libya currently supplies about 2.5 million tonnes of crude oil to Switzerland per year, about 20 percent of the country's total needs.

Author: Jo Amey