After the sacking of Mustafa Sanallah, oil companies are willing to cooperate with the Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammed Oun, Libyan media reports have said, citing sources familiar with the issue at the oil sector.
This comes after the Oil and Gas Ministry’s cooperation proposals have been snubbed by the ex-chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanallah who had a rift with Oun, the sources said, adding that the Oil Ministry could distribute budgets in the coming days to the oil sector in cooperation with Ministry of Finance for enhanced production.
The report says that communication between oil companies and Oun’s office had been on the rise since the appointment of a new board of directors headed by Farhat Bengdara.
“Oil experts believe that cooperation between the Oil Ministry and NOC as well as state sovereignty institutions could have a good impact on the performance of the oil sector.” The sources said.
The relationship between the current Ministry of Oil and the former NOC board of directors was at its worst, as the two sides exchanged accusations of obstructing the work of one another. The Minister of Oil and Gas accused the ex-chairman of the NOC, Mustafa Sanallah, of spying and working for foreign countries as well as of placing the interest of foreign oil companies over the interest of the Libyan state.
Oun has been demanding the sacking of Sanallah since June 2021 in repeated letters to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, saying that Sanallah’s job as NOC is illegal.
