The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, has announced that the NOC is considering declaring a state of force majeure within the next 72 hours, unless production and shipping are resumed at the oil ports in the Gulf of Sirte.
Sanalla called in a statement on Monday on all parties to be wise and to give priority to the country’s interest, resuming the production of oil and avoiding escalation.
He added that there are closures in the Gulf of Sirte region, and there are those who are trying to “demonize the oil sector in the capital, Tripoli,” vowing that the NOC won’t stand idly by and will confront them with legal measures.
The NOC Chairman explained that the government is responsible for the sovereignty of its institutions, and there can be no tolerance for any individual citizen or minister who politicize the oil sector to use it as a tool in any negotiations, bargaining or settlements.
He also said that there must be an absolute compliance with international law and legitimacy because Libya’s stability starts from managing its resources.
Regarding the statement on Libya by the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy, Sanalla welcomed their assertion that Libya’s resources must be managed in a transparent, responsible and accountable manner across the country and for the benefit of the Libyan people, in addition to their reiteration that the core public expenditures for 2022 should be clear and reflect priorities in spending on the oil sector.
Sanalla stressed that the regular operation of power plants, desalination of drinking water, and factories is conditionally linked to the continuation of oil production, part of which is exchanged for fuel that is in fact destined for vital facilities with the approval of the government because the Central Bank of Libya and the Ministry of Finance stopped funding the fuel bank account six months ago.
