By John Lee.
February income from sales of crude oil and derived products, in addition to taxes and royalties received from concession contracts, was $1.26 billion – a more than $330 million (-21%) month-on-month decrease.
The drop in oil revenue is attributed to adverse weather conditions affecting exports from the Es Sider port, in addition to the recent armed militia blockade and state of force-majeure at Sharara until March 4, 2019.
NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla commented:
“February revenues demonstrate the consequence of blockading and a weak security framework on our national finances. Following the resumption of production at Sharara, March revenue is set to rebound strongly. NOC has the ability to increase oil production up to 1.4 million bpd this year – if the security situation remains stable. Production outlook and potential revenue yield are completely attributable to the hard work of all workers in oil and gas sector in Libya. It is therefore imperative they be compensated with the long-standing promised oil sector pay-rise in line with government decree No. 642 of October 27, 2013.
“In the spirit of fairness, NOC is committed to the transparent reporting of national oil revenues. We are therefore keen to explore new cooperation opportunities with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to institutionalise our accountability to the Libyan people and build further trust.”
Mark Robinson, Executive Director of the EITI, added:
“We welcome Libya National Oil Corporation's commitments to transparency. These disclosures are good first steps in the long journey of bringing transparency and accountability in the governance of the oil sector in Libya. While Libya is not an EITI member country, we hope that this effort will spur further progress towards the country becoming a full member in the future.”
(Source: NOC)
