Following queues at petrol stations last week during the Eid al-Adha (feast of sacrifice) holiday, the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Masoud Suleiman, confirmed the continued and full availability of fuel supplies, noting that distribution operations sometimes face logistical obstacles related to the lengthy supply chain between loading and unloading ports.
Suleiman revealed that “unprecedented” distribution rates were recorded in Tripoli during the Eid al-Adha holiday, with approximately 11 million litres of gasoline pumped on the day before Eid alone, compared to only about 5 million litres during similar periods in previous years.
The NOC Chairman explained that distribution rates continued at record levels in the days following Eid, ranging between 9 million and 9.5 million litres daily, while the usual consumption rate does not exceed 6.5 million litres.
Suleiman pointed out that the quantities supplied during May 2026 exceeded those supplied in the same month in 2025, by a full tanker, confirming a dramatic surge in fuel demand.
The NOC’s subsidiary, Brega Marketing, is the body in charge of importing and distributing Libya’s heavily subsidised fuel to petrol stations.
However, in reality, some fuel delivery trucks do not deliver their loads to their assigned petrol stations but unload at illegal fuel depots. These illegal fuel depots then smuggle the fuel to Libya’s neighbouring states, taking advantage of the huge price difference.
Other delivery trucks unload at petrol stations, but the petrol stations only retail a small amount, preferring to sell the balance of stock to smugglers at exaggerated prices.
Suleiman was speaking to the press in Tripoli yesterday after a meeting hosted by Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi at the Ministry, on the recent fuel crisis, also attended by Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohamed Ben Ghalbun.
.
