Farhat Bengdara, the new chief of Libya's National Oil Corporation appointed by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, gives a press conference outside the company’s headquarters in Tripoli on July 14, 2022. (MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)In firing Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) board of directors, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah is trying to end oil blockades and encourage his eastern-based rival Khalifa Hifter to enter negotiations on a possible political settlement. But while Dbeibah’s gambit may result in a quick resumption of Libyan oil exports, it could also create long-term supply and corporate compliance risks by further enabling Hifter to politicize those exports. Dbeibah, who is the internationally-recognized leader of the country, removed the entire board of NOC, including its powerful chairman Mustafa Sanalla, in a July 7 decree that was not publicly confirmed until the oil ministry published the decree on July 12. On July 13, Sanalla made a statement from NOC’s headquarters criticizing the decision and Dbeibah for making the move against him while he was out of the country performing the hajj.

Source: Libya Today July 14, 2022 20:22 UTC