Libya's high stakes

Freeing NOC of political interference is essential if the country and its oil sector are to prosper in 2018

In 2018, after years of trying, political opportunists will finally succeed in capturing the National Oil Corporation (NOC). Investment and oil production will plunge, the Libyan economy will collapse, and the political chaos and increasing criminalisation we have seen in Libya over the past few years will seem trivial compared with the human catastrophe that will unfold. That's the nightmare scenario—and it is not far-fetched. Both 2016 and 2017 demonstrated one fact clearly: all Libyans depend on NOC's oil production, but some are trying to grab a larger piece of the pie for themselves. Libya's oil sector faces the general challenge of operating in a divided political environment and an un