His Excellency, Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Mr. Abdul-Hamid Dbaiba and his accompanying delegation visited the headquarters of NOC in Tripoli on Thursday 27th May 2021, and he was received and welcomed by Chairman of the Board of NOC, Mr. Mustafa Sanaalla,; the Oil and Gas Minister, Mr. Muhammad Oun; the Undersecretary of the Oil and Gas Minister, Mr. Rifaat Al-Abbar; as well as Members of the Board of Directors of NOC Messrs. Abulqasem Shengeer, Jadalla Alawkaly and Alamary Moh. Alamary, and Chairmen of the oil companies.
Upon the arrival of the Prime Minister, he held a meeting with the attendees, in which NOC Chairman welcomed his Excellency and said “We would like to thank you for your visit, which is not something unexpected, as you have promised to provide us with all support when we first met. Your visit today is a good evidence that you are keen to preserve the continuity of production in the oil and gas sector.
At the beginning of Mr. Sanaalla’s speech, he wished mercy for the souls of all martyrs of the oil sector who lost their lives recently. The most recent of which is ‘martyr of duty’, Mr. Ahmed Abuajeila Abudabbous, a worker at Ras Lanuf Company, who lost his life in a painful accident while performing his duty in handling the exit of a commercial vessel from the commercial dock at the terminal yesterday.
Mr. Sanaalla added that the oil sector is promising despite the challenges and the tough circumstances encountering it. In this regard, he pointed out that NOC managed to maintain the unity of the oil sector and the continuation of production despite the severe political divisions lately. He added that the work routine at NOC and its companies continued without interruptions despite all the challenges, something to be remembered throughout history within NOC’s path which exceeds 53 years. Our objectives will remain focusing on increasing the oil and gas reserves, increasing production and repairing the infrastructure of oil fields which have been sabotaged as well as the oil tanks which were destroyed as a result of the military conflicts. We also focus on developing the refineries and the processing plants. He also stated that NOC has set many plans, programs and investment projects, and ‘what we are waiting for is the financial support and the availability of the necessary budgets.
His Excellency, Prime Minister Mr. Dbaiba, affirmed his total support for NOC at all levels as it is the only source of sustenance for the Libyan people and the main pillar of the national economy. He also emphasized his encouragement to investments in the oil sector due to its great returns for Libya’s national income. He added “I raise my hat with respect, as you are the backbone of the Libyan economy, and I would like to extend my greetings to all the oil sector workers at all the oil and gas sites, whether in the desert, at oil terminals or in the offshore sites.”
The Minister of Oil and Gas, Mr. Muhammad Oun emphasized in his speech on the importance of developing the oil and gas sector and increasing the production capacity. Undersecretary of the Oil and Gas Minister, Mr. Rifaat Al-Abbar, stated that NOC aims at increasing production and to develop it, which can only be achieve through the government’s support. He added that “the workers who perform their duties in tough circumstances are looking forward for improvements in their working conditions and indeed they deserve the best, and we hope that this visit will bring improvements to the oil sector.”
Chairmen of the oil companies gave comprehensive explanations regarding the difficulties encountering the oil sector in light of the lack of budgets which caused negative impacts on the production levels and the safety of operations. His Excellency confirmed that he will support NOC and its companies in all possible means, as they are almost the sole financiers of the state’s treasury.
