Libya reshuffles oil ministry

Libya’s Presidential Council has announced that it will be reforming the Ministry of Oil and the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in what experts believe is an effort to limit the bargaining power of the eastern House of Representative, which holds close ties with the NOC.

The forthcoming changes included in Resolution 292 include the overhaul of the oil ministry to make it almost irrelevant, stripping the NOC of its powers to manage oil assets in relation to capital investments and day-to-day trading.

The resolution has seen a great deal of opposition within the NOC, particularly from its chairman Mustafa Sanalla who contended that the NOC should be above political control, proceeding with its management of the country’s oil reserves without political interference.