In an exclusive statement to Libya Herald today, Brega Oil Company’s Media Office confirmed that the company has received approval from the Tripoli government to establish the Janzour Oil Depot Project.
This comes after Brega obtained approval of the proposed financial budget for the implementation of the newly created Janzour Oil Depot project and completed the procedures for the receipt of the project site.
Brega is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state National Oil Corporation (NOC). The Janzour Oil Depot will enable the capital, Tripoli, to receive all oil derivatives through the floating marine receiving point and fully cover the fuel needs of the western region.
Gas cylinders factory
The Brega Media Office stressed that the company is working in coordination with the NOC to establish an oil factory and a factory for metal and plastic cooking gas cylinders. It reported that the Brega has completed the preparation of economic feasibility studies, which will be discussed for approval at its General Assembly meeting, as well as the activity of supplying ships and solvent factories. It said the company has completed the development of the necessary designs.
New petrol stations and gas cylinder distribution centres
The Media Office revealed that Brega intends to establish 30 own-brand petrol stations, 26 cooking gas cylinder distribution centres, two instant cooking gas cylinder filling points and five direct selling sites for cooking gas cylinders across various regions. It also plans to operate other direct selling points in the regions of Al-Jabal and Batin Al-Jabal, where the company obtained government approval to expand the opening of fuel stations and affiliated gas centres.
Stability through delivery of basic goods and services
The Media Office said the aim of Brega, the NOC and the Tripoli government through these policies and projects is to help achieve stability and national security of the state through the stable delivery of basic services and products.
Increased budget for Brega
The Brega Media Office also revealed that the NOC and the Tripoli government agreed to raise the financial allocations to Brega Oil Company to achieve the break-even point from the general budget according to the proposal submitted by Brega to the government at their meeting on 14 November 2022. This, it explained, will enable it to expedite some overdue maintenance work.
Online gas cylinders booking system
With regard to opening the reservation and registration system and preparing a database for applications to obtain cooking gas cylinders, with the support of the NOC, Brega received approval to import/supply 700,000 thousand metal cooking gas cylinders. The process of supplying these new cylinders is under Brega’s tender committee. This, Brega said, will facilitate the company’s operations in the provision of cooking gas cylinders.
Supply shortages and black-market prices
It must be pointed out that the subsidised cooking gas cylinders are too frequently hard-to-obtain at official prices and often only available at exorbitant prices on the black-market. In outlying areas and southern Libya particularly, cylinders are often sold in the hundreds of dinars as they are unavailable from the state.
Subsidies, scrap metal and smuggling
Equally, the over subsidised empty metal gas cylinders are worth more as scrap metal in the black-market and are smuggled to neighbouring countries to be smelted down.
Security of supply
With regards to Brega’s comment about the new Janzour Oil Depot helping achieve stability and national security of the state through the stable delivery of basic services and products, it will be recalled that during the various Tripoli militia clashes, the capital’s main fuel depot at Airport Road was badly damaged.
It was decided that the capital was too big and important to have just one main source of storage and supply of fuel and cooking gas cylinders. Establishing a new depot on the coast will help in that regard.
