Summary:

On Wednesday 28 May 2025, Libya’s eastern government declared that it may take significant steps to protect oil fields and ports amidst what it describes as “repeated assaults on the National Oil Corporation (NOC)”. 

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The government stated that it may temporarily relocate NOC’s headquarters, currently located in Tripoli under control of the western government, to one of the “safe cities such as Ras Lanuf and Brega.” 

These statements come as reports indicate that gunmen stormed the NOC’s headquarter in Tripoli and demanded they be granted the responsibility of protecting the building.  

The NOC denied the claims of gunmen storming the headquarters, describing the incident as a personal dispute that occurred in the reception area. The Attorney General, however, reacted by ordering the arrest of three suspects accused of breaking into the NOC’s headquarters.  

Days prior, the NOC confirmed that emergency and maintenance teams are continuing efforts to stop an oil leak that occurred in an oil pipeline south of the city of Zawiya which forced an immediate halt in production at the Hamada oil field. 

Outlook: 

The incident that occurred in the NOC’s headquarters reflects militia interest in having their share of the profits from Libya’s oil production.  Eastern government plans to relocate the NOC headquarters are unlikely to come to fruition as this would have a highly destabilizing effect on overall oil production and revenues in Libya that would impact both the eastern and western governments. 

Militias are likely to continue efforts to exert control over strategic sites, thus complicating governmental efforts toward stability. 

Further incidents at NOC facilities in Tripoli-controlled areas are likely to provoke additional threats of intervention from the eastern-based government which is already seeking a pretext to exert greater control over Tripoli. 

Oil production and export disruptions are likely to impact recent efforts to attract international companies that previously left Libya during the civil war. The reduction of oil revenues from such disruptions is likely to impact the NOC’s ability to repay its debts and attract international partners. 

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