Libya is pumping more oil than it has in over a decade, with production hitting 1.43 million barrels per day. The strategy behind this: get the country’s rival military camps to stop fighting each other and start cooperating.
That figure represents a 10-year high for a country whose output has been hostage to civil conflict since the fall of Gaddafi. The target is 2 million barrels per day, a level Libya hasn’t touched since before its 2011 revolution.
A budget, joint exercises, and a lot of handshakes
In April 2026, Libya’s rival governments did something they hadn’t managed since 2013: they approved a unified national budget. The price tag was roughly 190 billion Libyan dinars, or about $30 billion, with a significant chunk earmarked for the National Oil Corporation.
In mid-April, Libya hosted its first-ever joint military exercises between western and eastern forces in Sirte, the coastal city that has historically served as a dividing line between the two camps. The exercises were supported by US Africa Command leadership, with key figures including Lt. Gen. John Brennan.
