In Libya, Political Unity Starts With Oil

The two rival bureaus of Libya's National Oil Corp., based in Tripoli and Bayda respectively, are squaring off in a dispute that threatens to derail the country's new unity government before it even takes power. Libya's government has been split in two since 2014 parliamentary elections, after which the elected House of Representatives was forced to flee Tripoli for the eastern city of Tobruk. It has been fighting with its counterpart, the General National Congress, over oil revenue ever since.

Libya's National Oil Corp. based in Tripoli (NOC-Tripoli) recently contracted the tanker Nassau Energy to load a cargo of crude oil from the Ras Lanuf oil export terminal, which has been inoperative since December 2014. However, on Jan. 14, the guards at Ras Lanuf, who are loyal to the rival National Oil Corp. in Bayda (NOC-Bayda), turned the ship away citing recent attacks by the Islamic State on the facility. The incident comes less than a month after NOC-Bayda announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. to sell it 2 million barrels of Sarir-Messla crude oil per month. If finalized, the agreement would be the first successful export deal for the Bayda-based oil company, which few countries recognize as legitimate.