Libya: Oil Production and Exports Resume After Protests Disrupt Operations

by | Jan 30, 2025 | Diplomacy, Economic, Libya, Political, Security

Summary:

On 28 January 2025, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) confirmed that production and export operations resumed after discussions were held with protesters who blocked exports in the ports of Sidra and Ras Lanouf. 

The protesters had disrupted production sites, demanding the relocation of several oil company headquarters as part of larger demands for fair development and improved living conditions. Libyan media reports indicated that protestors suspended their blockade of the facilities to give the Tripoli government more time to meet their demands. 

The NOC published a statement to reassure “Libyans and its international partners that production operations are proceeding according to approved plans with no exception at any ports.”  

The protests came days after a large economic summit in Libya during which multiple energy firms expressed their interest in increasing investments in the Libyan energy sector.  

Outlook: 

The latest blockade of facilities displays the fragility of the Libyan energy sector due to a number of unresolved internal tensions over the distribution of energy revenues between the two rival governments and their respective areas of influence.  

Many observers suggest that protestors acted according to orders from the eastern-based government to halt oil exports to pressure the new NOC w Chairman, Masoud Sulaiman, to stick to the deal allowing the Haftar clan to get profit from exports revenues. But no official statements in this regard were made. 

The two rival governments in Libya are likely to continue pressuring Masoud Sulaiman as he announced reforms to increase transparency within the NOC, including closing branches and ending the crude-for-fuel swaps system which many see as the origin behind the increase in oil smuggling. 

The stability of oil and gas production and exports remain conditional on the two rival governments’ approval of such reforms. Disruptions in energy supply may risk harming foreign energy firms’ confidence in the country’s potential at a critical juncture for the economy and the country’s future.  


 

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