Amidst conflicts involving some of the major oil-producing OPEC countries, including Libya, Iraq, and Iran, the world has seen an increase in the amount of crude oil. In contrast to the previous concerns prompted by news of the drop in profits in the second quarter from Australian oil and gas group, OMV, prices are likely to ease especially after the reopening of Libya’s key oil port, Ras Lanuf. According the International Energy Agency (IEA), the cost of Brent crude oil has fallen to its lowest since last year on August 12.
Civil war in Libya, however, has escalated; last month was the bloodiest yet since the revolution in 2011. 469 people alone were left brutally killed in July, out of a total of 926 body counts so far this year. Libya’s head of army, Jad Allah al-Obeidi, admitted on Monday in front of Libya’s House of Representatives that the government has lost control over rebel groups that were originally funded by the government.
After the UN’s mission in Libya’s call for mediation effort between rival militias on Tuesday, the Libyan parliament on Wednesday voted to disband the nation’s funded armed groups and asked the UN to protect the Libyan citizens.
The humanitarian crisis in Libya continues to deteriorate as medical supplies dwindle and thousands of displaced families fled the country. The nation’s state of lawlessness has also made it a popular place for smugglers ready to cash in as thousands of migrants from elsewhere and refugees arrived at the coast, desperate to leave for Europe.
(Feature photo of El Sharara oil field in Libya, by Javier Blas for Wikicommons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
