Libya—whose production has been hampered by civil unrest, political divides, and oil export terminals blockades over the past few years—is now targeting to further increase its oil output. Its most immediate goal is to reach 1 million bpd of production by the end of July, which would further complicate OPEC’s desperate efforts to reduce global inventories and prop up oil prices. And its ambitions seem plausible. Just last month, when OPEC was discussing rolling over the output reduction deal, production-cut-exempt Libya hit its highest daily production level since 2014. Earlier this week, OPEC reported that total cartel production in May was actually higher than in April, with Libya the biggest single contributor to that increase. Analysts warn, however, that Libya’s output increase is not a for-sure thing. Production could sharply drop again, given the political rivalry between factions and the fragile security situation in country. Both scenarios—that Libya could […]