The Minister of Oil and Gas in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Aoun, said that the Italian “Eni” group took advantage of the division and weakness of governments to demand changing the terms of its contracts in Libya.
Aoun explained during an interview with the “Energy” website that the French company “Total” and the American “ConocoPhillips” want to amend the exploration development agreements as well.
Aoun pointed out that their dispute with the National Oil Corporation (NOC) was caused by the ministry’s objection to increasing the share of the Italian company Eni in the recent agreement it signed in Libya.
He added that Article 2 of Law 25 of 1955, and Article 17 of the agreement, state that any change, abandonment, or modification of the agreements requires the approval of the Ministry.
Aoun stressed that the law required the Ministry to impose its conditions for amending such agreements, indicating that this did not happen in this case, and it is part of their objection to these issues.
Aoun added that the Ministry and the NOC were unable to reach a production level of 1.3 million barrels per day by the end of 2023 as planned, and that this be their goal for 2024.
He stated that achieving production of about two million barrels per day requires at least 3 to 5 years, and that this matter will require experts and specialists to speed up completion, as well as transparency.
The Minister confirmed that public bidding will be open in 2024 to all Arab and foreign companies wishing to explore and produce in Libya.
Aoun revealed that the only Arab company so far that has entered the Libyan oil market and resumed its activities is the Algerian “Sonatrach,” indicating that they have no objection to working with Saudi Aramco.
