Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced today that it had regained full control of the Ras Lanuf Refinery from the Emirati LERCO JV (Libyan Emirati Refinery Company) partner Trasta Company.
In its statement, the NOC said that ‘‘after more than a decade of international legal and arbitration disputes, its Chairman, Masoud Suleiman, officially signed a final agreement today between the NOC and Trasta Company.
This agreement terminates the partnership and entails the withdrawal of the foreign partner from LERCO, with the partner’s shares reverting to the National Oil Corporation. This will return the Ras Lanuf refinery and complex entirely to Libyan sovereignty and management.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation affirms that this agreement officially ends the foreign partnership within LERCO and paves the way for the restructuring and operation of the Ras Lanuf complex under full Libyan management. This step is considered one of the most significant transformations in the Libyan oil sector since 2011.
Reaching this agreement definitively closes one of the most complex files in the Libyan oil and gas sector and returns one of the country’s most important oil and petrochemical assets to full Libyan control, thus paving the way for a new phase of rehabilitation, operation, and development.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation welcomes the achievement of this agreement, praising the significant efforts exerted by the negotiating team and the Corporation’s legal and technical teams throughout the years of conflict. He affirms that what has been achieved today is a significant national accomplishment that reflects the ability of Libyan expertise to protect the state’s rights and recover its strategic assets through legal and negotiated channels.
He also commends the efforts made by the relevant departments within the Corporation and its subsidiaries, considering the agreement to be the beginning of a new phase for revitalizing the Ras Lanuf complex and restoring it to its position as one of the most important refining and petrochemical centers in the region’’.
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NOC to exercise its call option to purchase Trasta’s 50 percent interest in the LERCO JV
