Libya rebels pen oil deal with Qatar

Libyan rebels have penned a deal with Qatar to market their crude oil abroad in exchange for food, medicine and - it hopes - weapons, a top official in the transitional government said on Friday. "The Qatar government agreed, the agreement is signed, that they will market crude oil for us," Ali al-Tarhoni, a senior member of the Transitional National Council who is in charge of oil and finance, told reporters.
He said that under a "barter" deal aimed at circumventing international sanctions, Qatar would market the oil and use the proceeds to purchase humanitarian supplies for the rebels. He also said the rebels hoped to use the oil revenues to procure weapons - "any kind of arms we can get to." "We have a list of arms we need and are trying to get from different fronts to buy," said Tarhoni. He declined to say from which countries the rebels hoped to obtain the weapons.
The official said the deal for Qatar to market rebel oil did not concern the major oil terminals at Ras Lanuf and surrounding villages, which the rebels have twice seized and lost in battles with Moamer Kadhafi's forces. The oil will instead come from the Sarir oil field in the country's remote south-east, which he insisted was under the firm control of the revolutionaries. Tarhoni said the rebels would be able to export one million barrels a week once they acquired the vessels to transport it.