Libya signs $20bn oil deals with US and French energy companies

Libya's Tripoli-based government has signed a 25-year, $20 billion oil development agreement with France's TotalEnergies and the US's ConocoPhillips. The deal is intended to more than double the output of the Waha Oil company by unlocking massive investments to develop new oil fields. Geopolitically, the agreement serves as a significant vote of confidence from the US and French governments in Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibah's administration. This move comes amid the ongoing political division and power struggle between Dbeibah's government and the rival eastern Libyan administration led by Khalifa Haftar.