The Washington Post reported Monday that the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to open Libya\u2019s oil sector as an alternative source of Gulf supplies amid the war with Iran are facing growing obstacles following an assassination, the resignation move by the governor of the Central Bank, and a week of drone attacks and explosions that continued through Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American newspaper reported that an explosion over the weekend at a substation at the Zawiya oil complex cut electricity to Tripoli, Zawiya, Sabratha, Surman, and Gharyan, according to Libya\u2019s General Electricity Company. Officials are investigating whether the incident was linked to a series of armed drone attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newspaper noted that the same power station had been attacked four days earlier by a drone loaded with explosives, causing a power outage and prompting General Electric to suspend its operations and withdraw its technical teams from the nearby facility, which Chevron and ExxonMobil are counting on as they enter the Libyan market. Over the past week, an oil refinery, a power station, substations, and storage tanks near the coastal city of Zawiya were subjected to at least six drone attacks. Zawiya is located about 30 miles west of Tripoli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the newspaper, the day before, the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, who deals with leaders on both sides of the divided country, submitted his resignation. However, both Benghazi and Tripoli rejected it. In less than two weeks, Libya\u2019s energy infrastructure, security system, and main economic institution linking the eastern and western parts of the country came under simultaneous pressure. These are the same three pillars identified by Massad Boulos, President Trump\u2019s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, in Washington in April as the foundation for reunifying Libya and opening more of its oil sector to American companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked one of the maritime routes through which roughly one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass, making Libya part of Washington\u2019s efforts to address the situation with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boulos said in April that Libya would reach short-term production of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, followed by between 2 million and 3 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chevron\u2019s return to Libya was the largest move by a U.S. oil company in the country in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newspaper added that the company won a contract in the Sirte Basin earlier this year, followed by ExxonMobil signing an agreement covering four offshore areas. Libya holds 41% of Africa\u2019s proven oil reserves, the largest share among the continent\u2019s countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Libya reported production of 1.44 million barrels per day in June, its highest level since 2013, but still below the 1.6 million barrels per day it was producing before the 2011 uprising, which ultimately led to the country\u2019s division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Zawiya refinery, located near Tripoli, processes around 120,000 barrels per day. It receives supplies from the Sharara field, approximately 450 miles away. The field is operated by Spain\u2019s Repsol in cooperation with France\u2019s TotalEnergies, Austria\u2019s OMV, Norway\u2019s Equinor, and Libya\u2019s National Oil Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Libya\u2019s instability threatens U.S. interests across the wider region, according to Austrian security analyst Wolfgang Pustai, who previously served as a defense attach\u00e9 in Libya and chairs the advisory council of the National Council on U.S.-Libya Relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The newspaper said Washington\u2019s objectives include stabilizing the country, countering Russia\u2019s military presence in Africa, increasing Libyan oil production, controlling migration to Europe, and countering Chinese influence over minerals in southern Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It noted that Boulos\u2019s initiative increasingly represents an opportunity to strengthen U.S. interests based on the current situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hani Al-Asar, executive director of Egypt\u2019s National Center for Studies, said: \u201cWe cannot treat the three events as three separate incidents, nor can we jump to the conclusion that a single conspiracy is behind them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the more important point is that Libya\u2019s security, energy, and economic institutions came under pressure at the same time Washington was attempting to link these institutions together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Omar Khatali, a Libyan-American adviser who previously managed the real estate investment fund of Libya\u2019s sovereign wealth fund and visited Tripoli in late July, said that, in terms of those behind the attacks, the three strikes are not connected to one another but are linked through the weakness of the Libyan state structure at present. \u201cThe whole thing is about money, power, and control,\u201d according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Washington Post reported Monday that the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to open Libya\u2019s oil sector as an alternative source of Gulf supplies amid the war with Iran are facing growing obstacles following an assassination, the resignation move by the governor of the Central Bank, and a week of drone attacks and explosions that continued through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":258261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[613],"class_list":["post-258260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports","tag-libya"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n