Libyan rebels could gain control over the country's oil exports, Britain's Defence Secretary Liam Fox said in an interview Sunday, dpa reported.
If that were to be the case, the "political dynamic" of the conflict would change significantly, Fox told the BBC.
The latest rebel advances in the North African country over the weekend could open the way for rebels to the major ports in the oil trade, he said.
"What you are seeing on the ground now is the rebels moving west out of Ajdabiya now to Brega, moving back round the coast. That, of course produces a very different political dynamic," Fox said.
Rebel control of exit points for oil would increase as they move round the coast from Brega to Ras Lanuf, leaving the rebels "pretty much in control of all Libya's oil exports," he said.
"That will produce a very dynamic and very different equilibrium inside Libya."