By Sami Zaptia.
London, 7 January 2020:
Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) reported yesterday that its November 2019 oil revenues were US$ 1.8 bn, a decrease of around US$ 410 million (19%) on October 2019 revenues and a decrease of US$ 613 million USD (25%) compared with November 2018. This took total revenues in 2019 to the end of November 2019 to more than 20.3 billion USD.
NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said: “Overall, despite adverse conditions, NOC is on track to hit its production increase and revenue generation targets, with oil and gas condensate production volumes consistent at 1.23 million b/d in November, compared to 1.22 million b/d in October.
The decrease in November 2019 revenues compared to last year was mainly due to a drop in the oil price. The difference in revenues between October and November this year was principally because revenues from some October shipments were collected early. November’s figure was also affected by bad weather. These revenues provide vital resources for the Libyan people and our continuity of supply contributes to global market stabilisation.”
The NOC said that it ‘‘embraces transparency as one of Corporation’s key values, and has reported monthly revenues dating back to January 2018, setting a standard for other Libyan institutions.
It pointed out that it pays all revenues from sales of oil and gas products to the Central Bank of Libya and receives its operating and capital budgets from the Ministries of Finance and Planning, disbursed by the Central Bank.
However, local and international critics, such as the Extractive Industries Transparancy Initiative (EITI), still feel that the NOC can do more in the way of transparency by publishing the contracts with its foreign partners and can improve transparency in its tender and contracting processes especially for suppliers.
