Libya’s new oil and gas ministry has agreed to pay 1.048bn Libyan dinars ($232.5mn) to state-owned NOC, to settle a funding dispute that has disrupted 280,000 b/d of capacity, according to Argus Media Group.

The ministry yesterday night said it has already transferred 500mn Libyan dinars to NOC, in coordination with the north African country’s ministry of planning.

NOC had on 19 April instated force majeure restrictions at the eastern Marsa el-Hariga terminal, after its subsidiary Agoco was forced to severely reduce productions when a lack of funding prevented it from fulfilling “its financial and technical obligations.”

NOC blamed the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) for the production cut, stating the institution had failed to liquidate 1.048bn Libyan dinars. It did not at the time clarify if this amount was sufficient to meet Agoco’s needs, or whether it would cover a larger portion of NOC’s requirements.

Argus Media Group pointed out that Agoco operates the larger 200,000 b/d Sarir and Mesla fields, along with the smaller Hamada, Nafoora, al-Bayda and Majid — for a total production of around 280,000 b/d, according to NOC and Libyan sources.

The calls for additional funding come at a time when Libya’s new Government of National Unity (GNU), which took the office last month under premier Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, is seeking to push through a long-stalled budget bill for 2021. Libya’s legislative body, the House of Representatives (HoR), sent back a draft proposal earlier this week, requiring revisions.