The Libyan oil ministry told CNN on Wednesday that production had shrunk to near shutdown in June to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.2 million barrels per day last year. But on Monday, Oil Minister Mohamed Oun told CNN that production had risen to 800,000 barrels a day, saying some fields had returned online.
US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland told CNN on Thursday that due to political tensions in the country, “there are certain parties that are seeking to gain an advantage by misrepresenting oil production figures.” Earlier data from the oil ministry were “inaccurate,” he said, adding that “actual production is significantly higher.”
Here’s what you need to know about oil in Libya:
Why does Libyan oil matter?
The North African nation has 3% of the world’s proven oil reserves, said Yousef Al Shamari, CEO and head of oil research at CMarkits in London. Although he is a member of the OPEC oil cartel, he is not bound by his production ceilings due to the political crisis he is facing, which means he can extract and export as much oil as he wants.
Its proximity to Europe means it can easily transport oil by sea on much shorter routes than other producers, and most of the oil is exported to European countries, he said.
What is the biggest obstacle to oil production in Libya?
The warring parties in the country have used oil as a lever while fighting for power. There is political opposition between rival governments in the East and the West, which has led armed groups supporting the Eastern government to take control of oil facilities and close them several times.
The UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU) sits in the capital, Tripoli, and is headed by caretaker Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeybeh. To the east is a competitive, parliamentary-elected government led by Fati Bashaga.
Most of Libya’s oil fields and infrastructure are in the eastern part of the country, where Commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) have armed control. He is in alliance with the Bashaga government.
Who is responsible for oil production?
On paper, the Tripoli-based National Petroleum Corporation (NOC) is the entity tasked with controlling the country’s production and marketing of oil abroad.
Fighting countries in the east and west have been trying to take control of the NOC since 2014, but the sector is controlled by Oil Minister Mohamed Oun, who belongs to the UN-backed government in the west.
But his influence is weak, Libyan analyst Jalel Harchawi said, and he was caught in a power struggle with the NOC, which is “working hard” to maximize production.
CNN was unable to contact NOC for comment.
On the spot, however, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar is largely responsible, Harchawi said. Armed brigades under his command have suspended production several times.
What is the role of foreign countries?
Oil Minister Oun has blamed foreign forces with competing interests for Libya’s political crisis. “There must be an agreement between them on the best ways to get a mechanism to get Libya out of this crisis,” he told CNN.
Haftar is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.
The Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor, entered Libya in 2019, which the United Nations says is an attempt to support Haftar and his LNA. It has deployed several hundred Russian officials around major oil fields, experts say.
In 2020, at the height of their involvement, Wagner took control of Libya’s Sharara oil field, one of its largest. The seizure also helped Haftar maintain a blockade on oil exports. The presence of Russian personnel allows Moscow to disrupt oil supplies to Libya if it wishes, Harchawi said.
Norland, the US ambassador, said the decline in Libyan production “certainly serves Russia’s interests and Moscow no doubt supports it”, but he attributed the current disruption to “internal Libyan factors”.
Is oil pushing the West to return to Libya?
Earlier this month, the UK embassy responded in Tripoli, and in March the United States proposed a mechanism to monitor oil revenues in Libya to resolve a political crisis that is disrupting production.
Approval of the mechanism at the political level has yet to follow, but Libyan parties have agreed in principle on “certain areas of priority spending,” said Norland, who lives in Tunisia.
Asked if the United States has confidence in the UN-backed government to restore stable production, Norland said that “no political entity exercises sovereign control over the entire territory of Libya and this includes oil fields.”
The digest
The White House says Biden’s meeting with Saudi officials will “include” the heir to the throne
The White House said Sunday that President Joe Biden’s upcoming meeting with Saudi officials would include Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hours after Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm suggested a one-on-one meeting.
- Background: Granholm told CNN on Sunday that her “understanding” was that Biden would meet the heir to the throne one month next month during his planned trip to Saudi Arabia. On Friday, Biden said he would not meet with MBS, but that the heir to the throne would be part of an international meeting.
- Why it matters: With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global surge in energy prices and the growing nuclear threat from Iran, the United States is trying to rebuild its relations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Biden’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia complicates the president’s promise to make the country “pariah” over its role in the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Hashoghi.
Iran says it is “too early” to talk about opening embassies in Tehran and Riyadh
It would be premature to talk about reopening the embassies of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the other’s capitals, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday after five rounds of talks between rivals last year to improve ties.
- Background: Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia. In April, the two held the fifth round of talks in Iraq, and the first batch of 39,635 Iranian Hajj pilgrims authorized to perform their religious duty in Mecca arrived in Saudi Arabia this month.
- Why it matters: Warming the bonds between the two can significantly de-escalate regional tensions. In a telephone conversation with his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolahiyan “highlighted the priority of Iran’s foreign policy neighbors and called for more consultations … to expand bilateral ties.”
Bahrain is starting to accept the Russian Mir payment card.
Bahrain’s ambassador to Russia, Ahmed Al Saati, said his country would soon accept Russia’s Mir payment card, according to Russia’s RT news agency. The ambassador said the move would allow Russian tourists to spend a holiday in Bahrain.
- Background: Russia set up its own card payment system in 2014 because it fears US and European sanctions against some Russian banks and businessmen over its annexation of Crimea could block transactions with US-based Mastercard and Visa. A total of 116 million cards have been issued.
- Why it matters: The recent expulsions of major Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system mean that customers are struggling to do business outside of Russia. The adoption of Mir will work to alleviate this blow. The countries currently hosting Peace are Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Around the region
The controversial practice of holiday shooting in the Middle East has returned to the spotlight after a child in Egypt was killed by an accidental bullet fired from a former politician’s pistol.
An Egyptian court banned the use of weapons during celebrations late last week, according to local news. The decision came after a gunshot from a former member of parliament at a wedding in Bukhaira province killed a child as he watched the festivities from his balcony. The former politician has since had his gun license revoked.
The new decision gives the authorities the power to reject, revoke, suspend or reduce gun licenses as they see fit.
Victims of holiday shootings are not uncommon in the Arab world. A Syrian refugee was killed in Lebanon on New Year’s Eve last year, and a plane at Beirut airport was hit by a holiday shooting. In September, leading footballer Mohamed Atui was killed by an accidental bullet during a funeral procession for the victims of the Beirut bombing in 2020. The gun celebrations following Jordan’s 2020 parliamentary elections were met with widespread condemnation, prompting King Abdullah to referred. He then tweeted, saying that the “tragic scene we witnessed by some people after the election process” was a clear violation of the law. ”
Jordanian television Al Mamlaka estimates that between 2013 and 2018, there were up to 1,869 victims in the country of holiday shootings.
By Mohamed Abdelbari
Add Comment