The National Oil Corporation’s Chairman, Masoud Suleiman, reported that he met with representatives from several international service companies operating in Libya’s oil and gas sector today. Suleiman did not name the companies.
The meeting discussed the service companies’ ongoing operations, the challenges they face, and ways to enhance their role in supporting sector activities and the NOC plans.
NOC’s subsidiaries’ debts to service companies discussed
During the meeting, mechanisms for addressing and settling outstanding financial dues were discussed. The goal is to ensure the continuity of these companies' operations and their ability to meet obligations and execute programmes and projects according to established schedules.
The meeting further explored opportunities to expand the scope of services and activities these companies provide within Libya and to increase their participation in projects and programmes implemented by the NOC and its subsidiaries.
It also discussed leveraging the service companies’ expertise and technologies to boost operational efficiency and support plans to increase production.
Suleiman emphasized the importance of building a sustainable partnership with service companies—one grounded in commitment, quality, knowledge and technology transfer, and the development of national talent. He also highlighted the NOC’s commitment to fostering a business environment that enables serious companies to expand their activities and investments in Libya.
Friction between the NOC and its subsidiaries and international service companies over debts
It will be recalled that NOC subsidiaries owe substantial mounting outstanding debts to several major service providers. There are reports that several have threatened to cease operations until their outstanding debts are settled, causing friction between the Libyan side and the international service companies.
Earlier this month, AGOCO reassigned some work from foreign service companies to Baker Hughes. It reported that it had ‘‘reassigned drilling, well maintenance, and software-related tasks—contracts previously withdrawn from service providers that failed to meet contractual obligations or retain national personnel – to Baker Hughes’’. AGOCO did not name the companies that have lost out.
