Reuters reports that Libya's oil ministry is proposing to separate its exploration and production activities from refining, creating two separate bodies that would be headquartered in Tripoli and Benghazi.
In a move that some see as appeasing calls for more authority in the oil-rich east, Minister Abdelbari al-Arusi [Alarusi] (pictured) said the proposed body dealing with Libya's oil refining and petrochemicals -- be called National Corporation for Oil Refining and Petrochemicals Industry -- would be situated in Benghazi.
Tripoli would remain the headquarters for a separate exploration and production body, to be called the National Corporation for the Exploration and Production of Oil and Gas, but it would have a branch in Benghazi.
The proposal for the two organisations will be submitted to the government for approval before being passed on to the ruling national congress.
(Source: Reuters)
