Haftar’s government threatens halting Libyan oil production after NOC attack

Libya’s eastern-based administration, led by Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi, has issued a warning that it may halt oil production and exports after an armed attack on the headquarters of the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Bloomberg reports.

Libya’s Government of National Unity released a statement saying that “repeated attacks” could prompt “precautionary measures,” including the declaration of force majeure at oil fields and terminals or relocating the company’s main offices to a safer location.

The gunmen who stormed the NOC headquarters on Wednesday reportedly demanded payment for security services. According to the NOC, the confrontation was minor, lasted about 30 minutes, and did not affect operations.

This incident comes amid escalating violence in Tripoli between militias aligned with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and opposing factions. The unrest has sparked calls among some for Dbeibah’s resignation. Although the clashes have been confined mostly to Tripoli, there are concerns that the instability could spread and reignite a broader conflict between Dbeibah’s administration and Haftar’s forces.

The two rival camps were previously engaged in a civil war that ended with a ceasefire agreement in 2020. Since then, the United Nations has pushed for national elections as a pathway to peace, but progress has stalled.

Control over Libya’s vast oil reserves—the largest in Africa—remains a central point of tension in the country’s fragile political landscape.