Qatar, which was the first Arab country to recognise the Transitional National Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people, was also first to offer to help the revolutionaries sell oil. In late March state-owned Qatar Petroleum agreed to market oil produced in the east, either by buying the oil and reselling it or by delivering it on behalf of the rebels. Ali Tarhouni, a Libyan opposition official responsible for economic, financial and oil issues, said that the revolutionaries had set up an escrow account to receive oil export revenue. If the scheme goes ahead, it is likely that Qatar will employ a swap mechanism, providing the Libyan opposition with food, fuel and medical supplies. On April 5th Reuters news agency reported that the first shipment of oil in 18 days from the east was due to leave the Marsa el-Hariga terminal near Tobruk. According to Lloyd's List, a daily shipping newspaper, about 1m barrels of oil were to be loaded onto a tanker headed, most probably, for Qatar.

Qatar has shown itself to be one of the staunchest supporters of the Benghazi-based opposition movement. It has been shipping fuel to the east of the country and allowed Libya TV, a new opposition channel, to base its headquarters in Doha, the Qatari capital. Perhaps more importantly, Qatar was also the first Arab state to send fighter planes to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.