Libya’s oil war flares up
NOC’s plans to lift output are under threat after renewed fighting in the Sirte basin
After three months of peace, Libya’s oil war resumed on 7 December with fierce attacks on the country’s key oil ports, leaving questions over the future of an ambitious plan to keep lifting the country’s production. Militias based at Waddan, held by the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), drove eastwards towards Es-Sider, the country’s largest oil port, held by forces loyal to the rival government, the House of Representatives (HoR) based in the eastern town of Tobruk. The fighting came three months after Tobruk’s Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by powerful eastern general Khalifa Hafter seized the ports from the GNA, abruptly changing the country’s strategic balance – an
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
