On 26 August, Government of National Stability (GNS) PM Osama Hammad declared a state of force majeure and instructed the halting of all oil production and exports in all fields and ports until further notice. Hammad said this was due to the need to protects and preserve Libyan funds at the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and prevent them from falling into the hands of an ‘illegal group that aims to seize them and waste them.’ The GNS is effectively the executive arm of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and therefore these instructions apply to LNA controlled areas including the south-west, south-east and central regions. However, it should be noted that it is usually the NOC which declares force majeure and it is usually due to situations outside their control – neither of which is the case here. The NOC has not commented on the situation at the time of writing.
