Lybian rebels to sell oil to Qatar

Libyan rebels have agreed with Qatar to market their crude oil abroad in exchange for food, medicine and fuel, a top official in the transitional government said on Friday, Associated Press reports.

He added that the deal did not concern the major oil terminals at Ras Lanuf and surrounding villages, which the rebels have twice seized and lost in battles with Gaddafi's forces.

The oil will instead come from the Sarir oil field in the country's remote southeast, which he insisted was under the firm control of the revolutionaries.

He said the rebels would be able to export one million barrels a week once they acquired the vessels to transport it.

A spokesman for Qatar Petroleum, the tiny resource-rich nation's public oil company, declined to confirm the deal. Libya's oil exports, ordinarily about 1.7 million barrels a day, have ground to a halt since the unrest began.