By John Lee.
The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, has said the country’s oil sector must not be a political bargaining chip, and urged all sides to refrain from conflict over oil infrastructure:
“NOC has always stood for the unity of the country, and we will continue to do so. Our objective is to maximize production and oil revenues and we made good progress in the last few months in recovering production levels and increasing exports, which are national priorities.
"We are against any actions that could damage the oil infrastructure in the country including oil fields, pipelines, ports, plants and other petroleum facilities. We need to take concrete steps to prevent our oil valuable assets being damaged. Above all, NOC and the oil sector should not be a bargaining chip in the political conflict."
In this regard, Sanalla said statements issued from NOC's headquarters by the National Salvation Government (NSG) and its Oil and Gas Authority do not represent the opinion of the NOC in any way.
In line with the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), NOC reaffirms its recognition of the House of Representatives (HoR) as the country's legislative authority and the Government of National Accord (GNA) as its executive.
"The people who made these broadcasts gained access to our premises by force," said Sanalla. "I strongly condemn cheap tricks like this that try to drag NOC into politics."
(Source: NOC)
