The Joint venture of Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Tripoli-based Waha Oil Company, saw its headquarters badly damaged by a bombing raid on 23 August.

“It was hit by bombs of some kind and the building caught on fire,” says a source inside the country with knowledge of Waha’s operations.

Waha is jointly owned by the NOC, ConocoPhilips, Marathon and Hess Corporation.

Waha production has not been disrupted by the fire although there has been some disruption within the company as employees relocate to alternative locations, according to the source.

“As violence has increased in Libya, activity at Waha has slowed down,” says the source.

“We don’t know whether the office was targeted or if it was an accident. It is a normal office and there aren’t any militia forces based nearby.”

The building is located in a refurbished warehouse block with water and fuel tanks in the grounds outside the building, something that has prompted speculation it could have been mistaken for a militia base, according to the source.

Over recent months, Tripoli has seen a surge in fighting as rival militia factions have battled to take control of the city’s international airport.

Violence peaked with air strikes on Islamist-led militias on 18 August and 23 August.

The air strikes were claimed by retired general Khailfa Haftar, who is fighting a war against the country’s militant Islamists without authorisation from the central government.

Haftar said he had international assistance to carry out the attacks. This assistance came from the UAE and Egypt, according to senior USofficials who spoke to the New York Times and news agency AFP.

The UAE provided the planes and pilots while Egypt permitted the UAE to use its bases for the attack, the officials said.

Despite increasing violence and destruction in Libya’s two biggest cities, oil exports from the country have continued to rise as access to ports and oil infrastructure has been secured through deals with armed groups.

On 25 August, NOC said normal operations had resumed at the Waha oil field, one of the four fields managed by Waha Oil Company. The Waha field has a capacity of 160,000 barrels a day.