In an interview with Bloomberg, NOC Chairman Farhat Ben Gdara pledged to end the blockage, double crude production to 1.2 million barrels per day, and protect existing contracts with foreign oil companies.
Ben Gdara confirmed to the US Agency, hours after Sanalla was replaced, that “the first step I will take is to return to the previous oil production rates before the closure, and that will be within a week.”
The Minister of Finance in the Government of National Unity, Khaled Al-Mabruk, issued a circular calling on all entities funded by the public treasury to send data on revenues, and expenses before the end of next August.
This is in order to prepare the state’s general budget estimates for the year 2023 for the first, second and fourth chapters.
US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said: “We are following with great concern the developments surrounding the National Oil Corporation, which is vital to Libya’s stability and prosperity.”
He continued: “The institution remained politically independent and technically efficient under the leadership of Mustafa Sanalla.”
The Ministry of Oil and Gas in the Government of National Unity issued a statement welcoming the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Government of National Unity regarding the restructuring of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation.
The ministry said that it blesses this important step to preserve the oil wealth and raise the level of the Libyan economy, according to the statement. It also thanked the Council of Ministers for their response after several recommendations made by the Minister of Oil and Gas, Mohamed Aoun, in this regard.
The Prime Minister of the Libyan government-designated by the House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, said today, Tuesday, that the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is sitting in Tripoli, protected by a limited number of militias, some of whom are believed to be linked to international terrorist groups, with the return of terrorist groups’ activity, especially in southern Libya.
During his participation in the British Foreign Affairs Committee’s session entitled “Libya’s security, foreign policy and the roadmap to recovery,” Bashagha added that under Dbeibeh administration, we have seen the revenues that Libya obtains in exchange for its natural resources are shamelessly used to protect personal interests, instead of using them for the benefit of the Libyan people. His period witnessed an unprecedented rise in food and drug prices without government treatment, in addition to the aggravation of the electricity crisis despite all the large funds that were spent on it according to government data. Moreover, in the first incident of its kind in Libya, Libyan students spent their entire academic year without books because of the conflict and the competition for commissions and deals.
The Libyan Prime Minister indicated that the era of the national unity government witnessed the return of political and institutional division, the rise of hate speech, incitement to violence and the thwarting of the dream of 2.8 million Libyans who were looking forward to changing through the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 24, 2021 according to Geneva roadmap, indicating that the Libyan people are not satisfied with this situation, and the best evidence of this is the demonstrations and protests that the country has witnessed during the past few weeks in all regions, the largest of which was In the capital, Tripoli.
He indicated that the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity was chosen after a closed vote in Geneva in March 2021 in a process similar to corruption recognized by the United Nations, while he refused to accept the result of the House of Representatives vote to withdraw confidence from him, even though he is the same parliament that granted his government legitimacy in an official session in Sirte.
Bashagha stated that “my government will work to provide investment and reconstruction opportunities and is ready to cooperate and work with you on the file of the Agreement on Energy Security and Transit Trade and to help reduce the flow of illegal immigrants crossing into southern Europe through my country.”
A currency dealer confirmed this evening, Tuesday, the rise in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market, where the dollar recorded 5.16 this evening, while it recorded 5.12 days ago.
According to the trader, the euro reached 5.22 this evening, while it had been recording 5.26 days ago.
The Council of Ministers of the National Unity Government headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh issued Resolution No. 642 of 2022 dismissing the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation headed by Mustafa Sanalla and assigning a new board of directors headed by Farhat Ben Gdara.
The decision of the Council of Ministers of the Government of National Unity stipulated the restructuring of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation headed by Farhat Ben Gdara and the membership of Hussein Saffar, Masoud Suleiman Musa, and Ahmed Abdullah Ammar in addition to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas.
It is worth mentioning that Sanalla headed the National Oil Corporation for nearly eight years, specifically since August of 2014, while the new head of the NOC, Ben Gdara, held several positions in the state, including the governor of the Central Bank of Libya during the period from 2006 to 2011.
The Prime Minister of the Libyan government assigned by the House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, issued Resolution No. 14 of 2022 regarding the formation of a committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Libyan government, Ali Faraj Al-Qatrani, which is concerned with researching and investigating the fuel and electricity crisis, and it is authorized to communicate with the relevant authorities to end the crisis and develop urgent solutions.
Global oil markets were already affected by the Libyan oil closure crisis, with the help of the Russian Wagner Group.
Wagner’s presence in Libya puts the Kremlin in a position that can hold a pressure card in the negotiations and make it a threat to NATO, especially since many oil facilities are equipped with military infrastructure, which gives Russia strategic depth to pressure the upcoming Europe on an imminent energy crisis, amid the tight global energy markets since the invasion of Ukraine.
Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha confirmed that he will assume his duties from the capital in the coming days, and that all roads to Tripoli are open, adding that he has received several positive invitations to enter the capital.
Bashagha said in an interview with Agence France-Presse today, Saturday, that “the forces that were opposing our entry to Tripoli have changed their opinions. They want us to enter it and we will.” He added: “there is no strong opposition to our entry, but rather there is opposition from some forces that the expired government paid them.”
He added that the National Unity Government was “illegitimate”. Its mandate had expired and it did not succeed in organizing elections. He warned that chaos may prevail in the country due to the demonstrations and people’s demand that there be one government in Libya that is capable of bringing together the Libyans and starting the reform process.
Bashagha pointed out that there is no connection between the power outage and the closure of oil facilities. He said: “After the residents of the Oil Crescent are assured that the money will not be used in corruption, thefts, or others, the ban on oil exports will be lifted.”
At the end of his speech, Bashagha called on the United Nations to adopt solutions that work for the benefit of the Libyans instead of the countries that interfere in Libya, and added, “We were able to avoid any military confrontation, but Libya cannot remain in this state forever. That’s why we need a solution.”