Update: Turkey has joined the seven countries in support for the National Oil Corporation as Libya’s sole independent, legitimate and nonpartisan oil company

A Joint statement by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and the ambassadors and chargés d'affaires of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America have reiterated full support for Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) as the country’s sole independent, legitimate and nonpartisan oil company.

"For the sake of Libya’s political and economic stability, and the well-being of all its citizens, we exclusively support the NOC and its crucial role on behalf of all Libyans." The statement, issued on Sunday, explains.

The statement also says that now is the time to consolidate national economic institutions in Libya rather than break them apart.

The participation of the UAE in this statement is a bit surprising as it backs up the parallel institutions in eastern Libya, which are loyal to Khalifa Haftar, let alone that the firms accused by the NOC to have tried to sell oil illegally from eastern ports were mostly Emirati.

This joint statement comes after the parallel NOC in eastern Libya has made several decisions that impede the production and exports of Libyan oil.

The latest of the parallel NOC decisions is appointing a new management personnel for the Brega Oil and Gas Marketing Company, which was considered by the Tripoli-based NOC a desperate attempt by parallel authorities in the east to export oil illicitly.