Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) has warned again that it will take legal action over purchases of crude from rival organisations.
It said it rejected the legal authority of the Libyan National Army (LNA) to determine control of Gulf of Sirte ports.
Any attempt to do so "would transgress United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and domestic Libyan law and penal code", it added.
Forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country have handed over control of ports with a combined export capacity of 800,000 barrels a day to a rival NOC in the eastern city of Benghazi.
“There is only one legitimate NOC, recognised by the international community and OPEC,” said NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla.
“Exports by parallel institutions are illegal and will fail as they have failed in the past. UNSC resolutions are very clear; oil facilities, production, and exports must remain under the exclusive control of NOC and the sole oversight of the Government of National Accord (GNA).
"We are confident that the GNA and our international partners will take the necessary steps to stop all exports in breach of international law.”
It pointed to UNSC resolution 2362 as condemning "attempts to illicitly export petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, from Libya, including by parallel institutions which are not acting under the authority of the GNA."
Sanalla added: “The LNA leadership has missed an excellent opportunity to act in the national interest.
"Libyans want a country of laws, not of guns. Instead of defending the rule of law in Libya by handing the Gulf of Sirte ports over to the operational control of the legitimate and internationally recognised NOC, the LNA has decided to put itself above the law.
"The LNA is behaving like the criminal Ibrahim Jadhran and should be condemned by the international community and Libyan people. The LNA has turned its back on the Paris Accords and on the path to peace. We hope the country will survive.”
NOC said contracts to buy oil from parallel institutions would not be honoured and it will pursue legal action against them by all options available.
Jadhran was blamed for attacks at the Ras Lanuf tanker terminal last week that burned down two storage tanks.
