On October 11, Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced that it had resumed its crude production. Importantly, oil facilities were relaunched on Sharara, the country’s largest oilfield.

The announcement came close on the heels of the talks between the internationally recognized authorities and the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar. The military commander assured that he would greenlight reopening of oil production in the key oilfield. Earlier, on August 21, rival factions in the conflict confirmed that face-to-face political and military talks would be held next month.

Meanwhile, the UN states that Libya’s rival sides have come to some agreement. Reopening of the Sharara oilfield is a milestone in the peace talks. So, the hostilities have been brought to a halt in anticipation of the peace talks in November under the auspices of the UN.   

Libya has been ruled for long by the two bodies of the executive power: the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli with Fayez al-Sarraj at the helm and an interim cabinet of Abdullah Abdurahman al-Thani in the East. The latter is supported by the Libyan National Army headed by Commander Khalifa Haftar backed by Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. On the other hand, the Government of National Accord found allies among Turkey, Qatar, and Italy.