On 3 August, Bloomberg published an article on the recent lifting of the Libyan oil blockades, 'An Oil Rebound in Libya Rests on Shaky Political Foundations'. Author Salma El Wardany argues that Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister, Abdul Hameed Dabaiba, ousted Mustafa Sanallah, the long-standing National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman, to appease eastern powerbrokers including the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Khalifa Haftar, whose supporters control many of Libya's oil fields. Wardany asserts that while Sanallah's dismissal may have appeased Haftar in some ways, it has not addressed the ongoing standoff between Dabaiba and the Government of National Stability (GNS) Prime Minister, Fathi Bashaagha, predicting that these rival governments will continue to clash until elections are held. Wardany notes that without a political solution between the two, the NOC will be unable keep crude oil flowing at a consistent rate, with interviewees characterising the current production uptick as a 'fragile-peace moment', warning of operational challenges for oil companies on the ground.
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