Libya Restarts Oil Production to Meet Domestic Needs Amid Ongoing Factional Disputes

Libya's Arabian Gulf Oil Company has resumed oil production to up to 120,000 barrels per day to cater to domestic needs. This comes after a shutdown triggered by factional disputes. The restart is below full capacity and aims to supply electricity and fuel plants. Export activities are still on hold.

Libya's Arabian Gulf Oil Company has resumed oil production at up to 120,000 barrels per day to meet domestic needs, engineers reported on Sunday. This decision follows a shutdown due to factional strife that halted most of the country's oilfields.

The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, responsible for the Sarir, Messla, and Nafoura oilfields, instructed production to restart on Saturday. The resumed production is below full capacity and is exclusively intended to supply electricity and fuel plants domestically. Engineers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the resumption but noted that export activities remain suspended.

The shutdown in August was triggered by factions in eastern Libya, where most oil production is concentrated. This followed the ousting of long-time Central Bank of Libya governor Sadiq al-Kabir by factions in western Libya, who installed a new board in his place.

(With inputs from agencies.)