Osama Hammad, who is heading the rival government in the east, warned on Saturday to take action and halt oil and gas operations in the main oil sites east of the country.
Hammad accused the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of siding with the UN- recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli and giving it access to "seize" $16 billion in oil revenues.
He warned to halt export operations and declare force majeure in response.
Hammad's government said it would "resort to the judiciary to appoint a judicial guard" over the seized funds to stop the ongoing tampering.
"The situation will remain unchanged until completing the relevant legal and financial procedures, which the committee formed by the House of Representatives should reorganize and implement under the supervision of the NOC's chief," a statement by the east-based government said.
Hammad said his administration would withhold development expenses without prejudice to the salary item or the service sector.
His government called on the UN Support Mission in Libya to undertake its tasks without bias and "clarify all that has been wasted from the people's money."
It may be worth noting that the Benghazi Court of Appeal had earlier rejected the NOC's appeal against the parallel government's decision to seize oil revenues and upheld its procedures for confiscating the NOC's accounts, issued on January 25, 2023.
