Forces allied to Libyan General Khalifa Haftar retake two key oil terminals

Forces allied to General Khalifa Haftar say they have regained control of the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf ports a week after they were captured by a rival faction.

A spokesperson of Haftar’s Libyan National Army told Reuters that the eastern-based group had taken back the ports from the Bengahzi Defence Brigades (BDB) following heavy fighting.

The militants advance on Es Sider and Ras Lanuf earlier this month ignited a fresh round of fighting for control of the ports in Libya’s Oil Crescent raising, fears of an escalation of violence and a reversal for the OPEC member state’s efforts to revive its oil output.

With a combined production capacity of over 600,000 barrels per day, the ports are Libya’s largest. They were reopened in September but are operating well below capacity.

The north Africa’s country oil production has recently been fluctuating around 700,000 barrels per day, more than double its output last year, but still well under the 1.6 million barrels per day the OPEC member state was producing before an uprising 6 years ago.