Rival Minister: Libya Producing 363,000 Barrels per Day

STORAGE FIRE

Zwai said his government wanted to keep the conflict out of state firm NOC by retaining a decades-old payment system through the country's Tripoli-based central bank. All contracts with oil firms would be honoured, he said.

The Thinni government has announced plans to set up new bank accounts in the eastern region in a bid to control the flow of oil revenues.

Zwai said such a move risked breaking up Libya.

"If they want partition we are ready for this, but we don't want partition because we are thinking of Libya's interest," he said.

The minister also warned that his tribe, the Zwaiya, was in control of major oilfields in the east should a federalist movement allied to Thinni's government push for partition of that region.

"If they want partition I have a clear message: we the Zwaiya tribe own all oil ports and resources (in the east) which we won't allow to get broken up," he said.