Page 4 - AfrOil Week 39 2019

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil
Libyan oil sector facing multiple trials
Wintershall is reportedly mulling an exit from the North African country, where the national oil concern has been caught up in clashes between political factions
WHAT:
NOC has protested against LNA’s bid to appoint its own board members to a regional subsidiary.
WHY:
LNA’s actions appear to be part of a campaign to wrest political power away from the inter- nationally recognised government in Tripoli.
WHAT NEXT:
Amidst the turmoil, Germany’sWintershall is questioning its commitment to the North African country.
LIBYA’S National Oil Company (NOC) has had to deal with a series of challenges in recent weeks.
Trouble erupted in mid-September, when allies of Khalida Haftar, the leader of a breaka- way group known as the Libya National Army (LNA), appointed a new board of directors to the local division of NOC subsidiary Brega Petroleum Marketing Co. (BPMC).
This move raised eyebrows among many observers, as it appeared to be part of an attempt to expand Haftar’s jurisdiction beyond eastern Libya, where his LNA already holds sway, and into Tripoli, currently home to the internation- ally recognised government of Libya.
Claims and counter-claims
The LNA, which has sometimes styled itself as the interim government of Libya, justified this actionbyclaimingthatNOCwasnotdelivering adequate supplies of jet fuel and other petro- leum products to the eastern regions.
It characterised the appointment of a new board as an attempt to protect the interests of consumers in the east.
NOC objected sharply to this argument,
describing the LNA’s claims as illegitimate and motivated by the desire to overturn the exist- ing arrangements under which only NOC may export Libyan oil.
It issued a statement quoting chairman Mustafa Sanalla as saying: “NOC rejects any attempt to partition and politicise Libya’s oil sec- tor to serve narrow interests and foreign agendas ... The real motive behind this attempt is to set up a new illegitimate entity for the illegal export of oil from Libya. Let us be clear: If NOC loses its export monopoly, the future integrity of Libya is at grave risk.”
Sanalla has also vowed to take legal and dip- lomatic action against any companies or entities that try to do business with the BPMC division that is under the control of the board appointed by LNA. Any party that attempts to do so will be violating the UN Security Council resolutions andLibyanlawsthatnameNOCasthecountry’s only legitimate oil exporter, he said.
Additionally, he dismissed LNA’s claim that
NOC was not delivering enough fuel, saying that
the country’s eastern and central regions were receiving petroleum products in quantities that
were “more than adequate for civilian purposes.” 
Wintershall has been active in Libya since 1958 (Image: Wintershall DEA)
P4
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 39 02•October•2019