Unrest continued in Libya on Feb. 21, and while it has not affected the country's energy sector, foreign energy firms have begun evacuating staff. Geographically, Libya’s energy industry is bifurcated between its eastern and western basins, with a thin majority of the total being produced in the east, where protests have been most vigorous. However, to balance that, nearly all of the country’s natural gas exports originate in the west, where Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s power base lies. While the two cities most affected by protests, Benghazi and Al Bayda, have limited energy infrastructure, two Libyan tribes have threatened to halt oil exports if the army continues to fire on protesters. Regardless of the tribes' threats, Libya's energy output obviously will be severely affected by the evacuation of foreign energy firms' personnel.
