Libya tries risky payoff to get oil moving from blockaded ports

A high-profile meeting at the Ras Lanuf oil terminal between United Nations Support Mission in Libya (Unsmil) chief Martin Kobler and central region Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) commander Ibrahim Al-Jathran on 21 July was intended to herald a breakthrough deal that would result in oil exports restarting imminently. A payoff for Jathran was approved by the UN, the Presidency Council and, after some protest, by National Oil Corporation (NOC). However, both Unsmil and the council appear to have underestimated both the complexity of Libya’s oil industry and the competing interests in its oil crescent.