Libya’s future is largely dependent on the oil and gas sector’s revenues, chairperson of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla said in his opening speech at the Benghazi International Oil and Gas Forum and Exhibition on Wednesday.
He stressed the importance of transparency to ensure the fair distribution of oil revenues across the country. “Every Libyan citizen has the right to see how every dinar of their oil wealth is spent,” he stated.
Sanalla highlighted recent challenges facing the NOC, including attacks on oil fields and the NOC’s headquarters, asserting that none of these efforts had achieved their goal, but had only increased the determination of the NOC to re-build Libya.
He spoke highly of the conference, describing it as an important step, encouraging the return of international partners to work in Libya, with their potential role in the enhancement of production capacity and oil revenues.
Sanalla thanked the security forces, who guaranteed the safety of the event, the organizing committee, event sponsors, and other forum participants. He expressed his hope that the event will serve as a catalyst for the development of the energy industry.
Earlier this month, Sanalla announced that Libya’s current oil production exceeded 1 million bpd despite local security challenges. He added that BP and Eni plan to restart their exploratory drilling operations at a field near the Libyan border with Tunisia in the first quarter of next year.
Moreover, the NOC is negotiating with several international oil companies with the aim to increase investment and production in Libya’s oil industry, if security across the country improved.
