The newly-appointed Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, has assumed office at the Tripoli headquarters of the NOC despite rejection by the contesting Chairman Mustafa Sanalla, whom the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah sacked in a decision issued earlier this week.
After entering the Tripoli headquarters of the NOC, Bengdara addressed the media in a brief press conference from inside the premises, saying he is officially now the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NOC by the force of law, vowing to focus on working to resume oil and gas production and exports – blocked by protesters since last April.
“Libya shall resume oil production and exports as soon as possible. Next week, Libyans will hear good news in this regard.” Bengdara added, assuring the NOC’s foreign partners that all the agreements in place are still intact and will be taken care of and even upgraded for the benefit for all parties.
He also promised to work in a transparent manner and publish the revenues and expenditures of the NOC, reiterating that if any party rejects his appointment as a Chairman of the NOC, they must go to the Libyan judiciary and if the latter decided that his appointment was illegal, he would leave office.
In the meantime, a reaction by Sanalla is yet to be reported, knowing that he rejected the notion of the appointment of Bengdara on Wednesday night and vowed to protect the NOC, as he said, against him and Debeiba, accusing them of working to benefit the UAE from Libyan oil.
