Turkey has delivered its first cargo of fuel to aid east Libya as part of multi-million dollar free oil supply deal with the cash-strapped rebel government aimed at easing shortages.
Libya's civil war has damaged oil infrastructure and severely hampered the rebel government's ability to produce and sell oil, increasing its reliance on foreign aid to pay for imports of refined products.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi remains in power despite a four-month-old NATO air campaign and five months of fighting with rebels who have seized large swathes of the oil-rich North African country.
Turkish Petroleum International Company, a subsidiary of Turkey's state-owned oil and gas exploration company Turkiye Petrolleri, has shipped two fuel cargoes worth at least $US10 million, an industry source told Reuters.
Regular fuel supplies such as gasoline for cars and diesel used for power plants are vital to the rebels to win the war and retain popular support in a country long-accustomed to subsidised energy.
A second industry source said the Turkish government was seeking to line up more suppliers and that he expected one or two more cargoes to be sent.
