Libyan Oil Minister Mohamed Oun tells Energy Intelligence that he has temporarily stepped down from his position but aims to return in the near future, leaving Khalifa Abdulsadek as acting oil minister. “I am not resigning as oil minister,” Oun insisted, adding that it is a temporary suspension based on “my own initiative.”Oun issued a statement in late June calling on Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh to resolve the situation whereby two oil ministers are vying for legitimacy. Leadership in FluxThe oil sector’s leadership has remained in a state of flux ever since Oun was dismissed by Tripoli in late March and his deputy, Abdulsadek, was appointed as oil minister by Dbeibeh. State National Oil Corp. (NOC) is producing around 1.2 million barrels per day of oil — “an average of 1.185 million b/d,” Oun confirmed. 2 strongly denying any involvement in a deal reported by the UK’s Times newspaper to swap Libyan oil for Chinese-made drones destined for Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.
