Head of Libya’s NOC rejects sacking

TRIPOLI, Libya

Head of Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla has rejected a decision by the Tripoli-based government to sack him.

Sanalla said the mandate of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s government has expired.

In March, Libya’s Parliament appointed a new government headed by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, but Dbeibeh rejected the decision and refused to cede power.

“NOC is not owned by the government. It’s protected by international law and the political agreement and it is neutral,” Sanalla said in video message on the corporation’s website.

On Tuesday, Dbeibeh sacked Sanalla and appointed Farhat Omar Bengdara as NOC chairman, along with a new board of four members.

Sanalla headed NOC since 2015, but disputes emerged recently between him and Oil Minister Mohamed Aoun, who accused the NOC chairman of hiding reports about oil production and revenues.

Libya’s crude oil production has dropped to between 100,000 and 200,000 barrels a day due to closure of most of the country’s oil fields and ports.

Since April 17, Libyan tribal groups shut down much of the country's oil facilities in southern and central Libya to pressure Dbeibeh to hand over power to Bashagha.

Prior to the closure, Libya was producing around 1.2 million crude oil barrels a day.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar