On Monday (September 30th) local time, the eastern Libyan parliament approved a new candidate for the position of central bank governor, ending the deadlock surrounding the OPEC member country's control over its massive energy revenue. This means that the country is about to fully resume oil production and exports.
The Eastern Libyan Parliament unanimously supported the appointment of Naji Issa as the head of the central bank during a televised conference that day, and the central bank will appoint new committee members within 10 days.
Insiders claim that the oil industry is expected to receive orders to resume production soon, and it is widely expected that production will resume on Tuesday after the parliament approves a new central bank governor.
This political crisis began in August when the western Libyan government fired senior central bank governor Sadiq Kabir and the eastern government ordered the closure of oil production in response. After various political factions were caught in a power struggle for control of the central bank and oil revenues, multiple oil fields in the country gradually ceased production.
After the sharp decline in oil exports was halted, it had a catastrophic impact on the Libyan economy, which heavily relies on energy revenue to purchase essential goods such as wheat, sugar, and fuel.
Libya is a major oil producing country in the Mediterranean region, and its political situation has been unstable since the outbreak of anti Gaddafi protests in 2011. In 2014, the country split into warring eastern and western factions, and energy resources have been a key battlefield for various factions to compete for political advantages.
It is reported that Libya usually produces about 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, but at the end of August, this number dropped to less than 450000 barrels, and the country has not released any new production data since then.
On September 26th, Libya signed an agreement under the mediation of the United Nations, appointing former head of the central bank's issuing department, Issa, as the governor.
UN Deputy Special Representative for Libya, Stephanie Curry, stated that the agreement stipulates that within one week of its signing, the National Assembly will appoint a new central bank governor and deputy governor, and appoint a central bank committee within two weeks of the appointment of the new governor.
Curry claimed that the signing of the agreement marked a brand new beginning. On this basis, all parties in Libya should resolve other unresolved issues through inclusive dialogue and participation in cooperation, paving the way for the unity and restoration of legitimacy of their institutions. Curry emphasized the need to reopen oil production and resume oil exports as soon as possible.
But as before, the agreement reached on September 26th was built on an unstable foundation. The 2020 ceasefire agreement supported by the United Nations successfully ended the fighting, but the country has yet to achieve nationwide elections and the differences between the east and west have not been resolved.