Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh
Chaos the new normal for Libya’s oil sector
Hopes for a recovery by the North African oil producer remain in tatters
International confidence in Libya’s oil sector has plummeted following a month-long blockade by one of the country’s two rival governments. The eastern government in Benghazi ordered the blockade of ports and fields in late August to protest against the firing of the chairman of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Sadiq al-Kabir, by the western government in Tripoli. This blockade was a civilised affair, completed not by militias storming oil installations but by phone calls from the army of Khalifa Haftar, a powerful warlord allied to the eastern government. Within days, oil production fell from 1.2m b/d to approximately 0.5m b/d. It lasted until 1 October, when UN mediators secured agreement
Also in this section
24 April 2026
The European Commission’s response to the Middle East crisis is to double down on its transition strategy, with plans for a new target on electrification
24 April 2026
A major new discovery by Eni and BP that can likely be fast-tracked to production is welcome news for Egypt as it scrambles to plug a widening supply gap and deal with rising import risks
24 April 2026
Countries in the region are turning to the cleaner-burning fuel for power generation, driving demand for imports
24 April 2026
The US has used booming shale production to massively expand its LNG infrastructure, but Canadian developments have not fare so well while in South America consumption outstrips production
