Following yesterday’s statement by Major General Jamal Al-Omami, Head of the Sebha City Reorganization Committee, that Brega Oil Marketing Company has failed to meet its obligations regarding support for the southern region by ensuring it receives its allocated share of fuel supplies, Brega’s Official Spokesperson, Ahmed Al-Masalati categorically refuted the claim today.
Al-Omami had claimed that no fuel shipments reached the southern region on Friday, October 9, 2026—marking the third consecutive day of such shortages—from the usual supply sources: the Zawia Oil Refinery and the depots in Tripoli, Misrata, and Marsa Brega.
However, responding through Libyan media outlets today, Al-Masalati stated that the total volume of fuel dispatched under the southern region supply programme on Saturday and Sunday (October 10–11, 2026) amounted to approximately 2.6 million litres of gasoline and diesel.
Al-Masalati explained that while these quantities were dispatched as part of the supply programme, they had not yet reached the Sebha oil depot at the time of the statement—explaining why the depot had not commenced distribution operations during the preceding period.
He added that, as he was making the statement, the first fuel truck entered the depot—a development signalling the actual arrival of supplies—while the movement of shipments designated for the southern region continues to be monitored.
Al-Masalati emphasized that Brega Company is tracking the flow of supplies to the southern region and is committed to keeping the public informed of operational updates based on developments on the ground.
He noted that dispatching quantities under the supply programme is distinct from their actual arrival at the depot, which is the prerequisite for completing receipt procedures and initiating distribution.
The other view
By differentiating between the ‘‘dispatching’’ and the ‘‘arrival’’ of fuel supplies at the Sebha Depot, Al-Masalati was subtly hinting about the fact that fuel dispatches to the south are the subject of commandeering by armed (militias) southern fuel smugglers enroute and after they are distributed in Sebha.
Brega is not a security enforcement agency
Brega persistently clarifies that it is a civilian fuel distribution agency and not a security enforcement agency and that it is up to the official authorities, in the north and south, to secure fuel delivery trucks.
There is a strong view that it is the fuel smugglers in the south that are the main long-term cause of fuel shortages and it is the smugglers who broadcast the idea that the coastal cities do not dispatch fuel to the south. The smugglers play on local senses of grievance to deflect blame onto the coastal cities – while smuggling fuel for huge profits to neighbouring states.
Fuel-filling digital cards as part of a fuel subsidy reform policy
On a wider note, there have been discussions and calls for the introduction of a nationwide digital fuel card through which all official Libyan residents / vehicle owners are allotted a monthly subsidised fuel allowance.
Beyond the allotted quota, consumers would be free purchased extra fuel at an unsubsidised international commercial price.
New refinery to be built in the south
It will also be recalled that there is a plan to build an oil refinery in southern Libya so that the region can have its own local fuel supply and not be dependent on supplies from coastal Libya.