General Haftar’s risky move to hand the oil ports over to the Eastern NOC

On 25 June, General Khalifa Haftar announced the handover of Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra oil ports to the Eastern- based National Oil Corporation (NOC). The announcement came a few days after Haftar reclaimed control of the two oil installations from forces led by Ibrahim Jadhran, with the alleged support of the Benghazi Defense Brigade (BDB). Haftar’s handover of the oil facilities is widely perceived by analysts as an unexpected and risky move, which is likely to aggravate the existing divisions in Libya between the East and the West. Indeed, the handover of the oil facilities to the parallel, unofficial Eastern- NOC demonstrates Haftar’s intent to bypass the authority of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and its institutions. Supported by the international community, the Western-based NOC is supposed to be the sole legitimate institution in charge of the oil sector in Libya.