Libya: Oil Minister again takes aim at NOC chairman for holding key oil information

Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas Mohamed Aoun has accused the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Mustafa Sanalla of withholding production data, amid plans to replace the board of directors of the company.

Aoun, who has been at odds with Sanalla for some time, has revealed that he has not got data on production since last April 3, Libya Observer reports.

The minister also indicated that Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has been informed of this, and the issue was raised at a cabinet meeting in Jadu town on June 23.

Both Dbeibeh and Aoun floated the idea to replace Mustafa sanalla and replace the entire NOC board of directors but the plan has been rejected by the House of Representatives (HoR).

Aoun accused Sanalla of “infringement, arrogance, defiance, and disrespect of the law and of his superiors,” disclosing that he submitted a memorandum to the PM in this regard for the third time since no action has been taken against him, Libya Observer adds.

It is unclear why the NOC boss is allegedly holding data but it is coming amid showdown between Dbeibeh and his rival Fathi Bashagha backed by the HoR.

The parliament replaced Dbeibeh in February by the former Interior Minister Bashagha and asked the NOC to stop financing Dbeibeh’s administration.