Libya pumped about 1.6 MMbpd of crude before the 2011 rebellion that ended Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule. Output fell to a quarter of that level this year as militias affiliated with rival governments in the east and west of the country fought for control of oil resources. Tribes and workers seeking jobs and better pay have also blocked operations at fields and pipelines, making the country the smallest producer in OPEC.

The North African nation stopped crude exports from the two ports in December 2014 after militias attacked Es Sider, its largest oil terminal. The NOC declared force majeure, a legal status protecting a party from liability if it can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control, at the two ports the same month.

Nagi Elmagrabi, chairman of the National Oil Corp. for the eastern region, an engineer with 26 years of experience in the oil industry, is considering ways to increase oil production and restarting exports from the region’s two largest ports Es Sider and Ras Lanuf.