Libya's Tripoli-based government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), announced that it had lifted the force majeure for oil and gas explorations on Monday.

The GNU invited international oil companies that have contracts with the state-oil company (NOC) to resume their work in the country.

The government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah had signed a preliminary deal on energy exploration with Türkiye in October, which Libya's eastern-based parliament, which backs an alternative administration, rejects.

The agreements will allow for oil and gas exploration in Libyan waters and come three years after the two countries signed a maritime border deal.

Speaking at a ceremony in Tripoli, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said they had signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) aimed at benefiting both countries.

In August this year, Libya's capital Tripoli saw deadly clashes between forces backing Dbeibah and those loyal to his rival Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed by the Tobruk-based parliament as prime minister. It left 32 people dead and 159 injured.

Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising, with myriad armed groups and foreign powers moving in to fill the power vacuum.

The violence, the worst since reaching a cease-fire in 2020, came amid military buildups by forces affiliated with Dbeibah and Bashagha, as both figures claim power and authority in the North African country.