Explainer: Libya exports oil to Italy after end of shutdown in east
Tribes affiliated with Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who fought the government during the civil war, closed several oil fields due to a dispute with Libya’s state oil company.
Libya has announced a renewed oil exports to Italy, demonstrating the end of a crisis in the country that paralyzed the energy industry.
What happened: The National Oil Corporation said Sunday the tanker Ibela left the port of Sirte in eastern Libya for Italy, the official Libyan News Agency reported. Al-Monitor could not confirm the ship’s departure via shipping data.
Libya’s oil industry had been paralyzed for some time due to a dispute over the leadership of the National Oil Corporation and the unity government. In April, eastern tribes loyal to Libyan National Army leader Gen. Khalifa Hifter shut down several oil ports and fields, demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, The Libya Observer reported.
Dbeibeh took office last year as part of a unity government, which has been governing the country since the civil war between Hifter’s forces and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord ended in 2020.
