By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 20 September 2013:
Speaking on the second and final day of the CWC Libya Forum on oil and gas (17-18 . . .[restrict]September) in Tripoli, Mohamed Alloub, Senior NOC Consultant and Head of Downstream Oil and Gas Development Committee, asked the rhetorical question of whether Libya needed to expand its downstream hydrocarbon sector.
Answering his own question, Alloub gave 6 reasons why in his analysis Libya did indeed need to expand its downstream hydrocarbon sector.
Alloub felt that the current Libyan downstream hydrocarbon sector was too small and could not even satisfy local demand. Moreover, the specifications and standards of the Libyan sector were outdated and inefficient.
He also argued that Libya needed to diversify its hydrocarbon revenue to earn more income from petrochemicals and retain more profits. Diversification would also provide more and new jobs to help solve Libya’s large youth unemployment problem.
Finally, Alloub felt that Libya’s strategic location and its good quality (sweet) crude oil would help in expanding its downstream hydrocarbon sector. [/restrict]
