Libyan Oil Fields Shut, Cutting Country's Output by More than Half

A general view of the Zueitina oil terminal is seen in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of the Zueitina oil terminal is seen in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
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Libyan Oil Fields Shut, Cutting Country's Output by More than Half

A general view of the Zueitina oil terminal is seen in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of the Zueitina oil terminal is seen in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)

Eastern Libya ports controlled by Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, shut down oil exports, slashing national crude output by more than half and ramping up tensions ahead of a summit in Germany to discuss the country’s conflict.

The dramatic move came as Germany and the United Nations try to persuade Haftar at the Berlin summit on Sunday to halt his nine-month campaign to take Tripoli, seat of the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.

Tribesmen in areas controlled by the LNA on Friday stormed the eastern Zueitina oil export port and announced the closure of all terminals under LNA control, reported Reuters.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari later told reporters that the “Libyan people had closed the oil ports.”

Analysts said the closure of oil ports would not have been possible without the blessing of the LNA leadership. A source in the National Oil Company (NOC) said the LNA and an eastern oil protection force had ordered the closure of the ports. The oil protection force confirmed exports had been stopped.

Libya’s oil production was an estimated 1.3 million barrels a day before the closures.

The tribesmen allied with Haftar earlier accused the Tripoli government of using oil revenues to pay foreign fighters - a reference to Turkey’s decision to send soldiers and fighters from Syria’s war to western Libya to help the GNA fend off the LNA campaign.

The head of the eastern Zouaya tribe told AFP that blocking exports would "dry up the sources of funding for terrorism via oil revenues".

The tribes also called for the "immediate" closure of the Mellitah, Brega and Misrata pipelines.

NOC chairman Moustafa Sanalla said the oil and gas sector is "vital" for the Libyan economy, as it is the "single source of income for the Libyan people".

"The oil and the oil facilities belong to the Libyan people. They are not cards to be played to solve political matters," he added.

Libya’s oil sector, which brings in almost all of the state's revenues, has frequently been the target of attacks.

Sanalla said the consequences of exports and production being shut down for an extended period could be devastating.

"We face collapse of the exchange rate, a huge and unsustainable increase in the national deficit, the departure of foreign contractors, and the loss of future production, which may take years to restore," he said.

The ports closure mark a setback for the Berlin conference on Sunday where Haftar and Sarraj are expected. The one-day summit is the latest in a series of failed conferences and negotiations to stabilize Libya.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.