Libya power-cut protests halt output at the El Feel oilfield and partly suspend Wafa

Protests over prolonged power cuts in Libya have reached the country's oil sector. According to Al Jazeera, a group of protesters entered the Mellitah oil and gas complex on Tuesday 28 July 2026, forcing Libya's National Oil Corporation to halt production at the El Feel oilfield and partially suspend the Wafa field. The disruption constrained the gas needed for power generation and knocked several generating units off the grid. The Government of National Unity later secured the complex and gas pumping resumed.

Power cuts in the capital Tripoli and surrounding areas last around 10 hours a day, and with temperatures above 48 degrees Celsius the situation has triggered widespread protests and civil disobedience. Demonstrators shut major roads and gathered outside government buildings, including the foreign ministry, demanding accountability over corruption.

A former official at the General Electricity Company of Libya told Al Jazeera that the crisis is rooted in major projects left unfinished from before 2011, including the Gulf steam power station near Sirte and the West Tripoli steam power station, each designed as four units with a combined capacity of 1,400 megawatts. Only two of Sirte's four 350 megawatt units have been connected to the grid. Libya is an OPEC member, so disruption to its output affects global oil supply.