The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mr. Mustafa Sanalla held a meeting on Thursday, March 3, 2022, in the main meeting hall at the NOC headquarters in Tripoli, with the heads of subsidiaries, in the presence of the NOC board member Mr. Abulgasem Shengeer, the General Manager of the General Department of Finance of the NOC Mr. Naeem Al-Gharyani and all the managers of the competent financial departments.
The meeting discussed the difficult financial conditions suffered by the sector in the absence of the adoption of the budget for last year 2021 for the NOC, its subsidiaries and its negative effects on the sector in general, in addition to discussing the organization of the work of financial departments in the sector under these conditions.
Mr. Mustafa Sanalla explained in his speech that the internal audit department of the sector companies is one of the important arms on which the NOC depends on the management of the work in the sector, so it is necessary to develop the work of these departments and work transparently and focus on activating the role of internal audit departments of the companies, and not completing the exchange procedures without the approval of this department.
In light of the scarcity of budgets and the lack of financial resources, the Chairman of the Board of Directors called on the heads of the oil companies to set priorities for spending and focus on projects related to the sustainability of production, public safety and operational safety, due to the poor financial situation in the sector, which is the worst so far, and the need to set priorities in investment and future projects and give the greatest role to the technical departments of the companies, which decide the actual needs of operational needs and technical work programs, due to the poor financial situation in the sector, which is the worst so far, and the need to set priorities in investment and future projects and give the greatest role to the technical departments of companies, which decide the actual operational needs and technical work programs.
He also referred to following the legal procedures regarding tenders and not extending contracts without a public tender in accordance with the directives of the National Oil Corporation on the dates of October 21, 2021, March 2, 2022 and the need to abide by the correct procedures and give priority to the national service companies owned by the NOC (Al-Jouf – NOFCAT – NWD) and support them because of their positive impact, especially since these companies provide in competitive services and high quality by the testimony of all and urged the need to cooperate with the General Finance Department of the NOC and refer financial reports and close the final accounts periodically and regularly.
Mustafa Sanalla stated that the government was contacted and that it promised to liquefy part of the budget worth 2.5 billion dinars in the upcoming period, pointing out that this action came after contacts and meetings in order to solve this problem even for a small part, so that we can maintain the continuation of production and pay the late salaries of “Al-Jouf” companies and “NOFCAT”, which were delayed for four months continuously, explaining that the delay in the liquefaction of the budget has had a negative impact on development projects and increase production for the NOC and its subsidiaries, as well as the negative impact on the NOC’s attempts to improve the conditions of sector workers and increase salaries, although the NOC is the one that achieves the largest revenues for the country.
Mr. Naeem Al Gharyani, the NOC’s General Manager of Finance, also spoke to a number of measures taken by the finance department to organize the work of its departments to improve performance and overcome difficulties and obstacles smoothly to ensure the provision of appropriate service to all employees in the sector and to ensure the continuation of the work, he also noted the reasons for the delay of the workers salaries, are due to the obstacles put in place by the Central Bank.
Mr. Mustafa Sanalla explained the need to develop an urgent solution to this problem in accordance with the publication issued by the Prime Minister, which regulates the work of financial observers, and the need for urgent compliance with the judicial rulings issued in favor of the NOC in particular.
At the end of the meeting, the “NOFCAT” Company reviewed the most important financial problems that hinder the company’s work in providing supply services in oil fields and ports, namely the accumulation of debt as a result of non-payment of obligations by oil companies, the rise in world prices, and the Corona pandemic, and the proposed appropriate solutions.
