A senior Libyan rebel official said on Sunday that Gulf oil-producer Qatar had agreed to market crude produced from east Libyan fields which are no longer in the control of Muammar Gaddafi.

'We have made a deal with Qatar,' said Ali Tarhouni, a rebel official in charge of economic, financial and oil matters, in rebel-held Benghazi. 'Our next shipment will be in less than a week,' he said.

Tarhouni, speaking to reporters, also said output from east Libya oil fields that rebels controlled was running at about 100,000 to 130,000 barrels per day (bpd), and said it could be increased to 300,000 bpd.-Reuters