Mustafa Sanalla and his entire National Oil Corporation (NOC) board of directors have been sacked by Tripoli-based Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba.
The leaked decision (642/2022) was dated 7 July but was only published officially yesterday by the Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas.
The decision appoints former Central Bank of Libya Governor Farhat Bengdara as the new NOC chairman. The other four of the five-member board are the incumbent Deputy Oil Minister, as well as Hussein Safar, Masoud Musa and Ahmed Abdalla.
Oil Minister Aoun welcomes decision he has been long openly lobbied for
The Ministry of Oil and Gas welcomed yesterday the government decision to ‘‘restructure’’ the NOC board of directors. It congratulated ‘‘this important step to preserve the oil wealth and raise the level of the Libyan economy’’.
Pulling no punches, the ministry thanked the cabinet ‘‘for their response after many recommendations made by the Minister of Oil and Gas, Eng. Mohamed Emhamed Aoun regarding restructuring the board of directors of the National Oil Corporation.
The Ministry also extends its sincere congratulations to the honourable Libyan people, and to all workers in the oil and gas sector, on this important event.’’
It concluded: ‘‘We pray to God Almighty to grant success to the new Chairman and members of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation, for the good of the country.”
Commenting further yesterday to Libyan media on the decision, Aoun confirmed that he had not officially received the decision yet. He said whether Sanalla accepted the decision or not was a personal matter for Sanalla which would not affect the work of the NOC. He said Sanalla had the right to make a legal appeal against the decision.
He said that in his view there is nothing preventing the implementation of the cabinet’s decision and that changing a board can occur at any time. The NOC chairmanship is not the monopolistic domain of one person, he explained.
This contrasts with Sanalla’s view that like the Central Bank of Libya Governor, the NOC is a technical entity and beyond the day-to-day political manoeuvrings. He also felt it should be up to parliament to remove him.
Aoun added that the appointment of Bengdara as NOC chairman will add to the NOC’s and Libya’s financial and economic expertise.
Analysis
Coincidently or not, Sanalla happened to be in Mecca performing the Hajj pilgrimage when he was sacked. He may contest the decision upon his return. He has the backing of several foreign states. Too much backing according to his critics to the extent they question his independence.
Aoun has had several public and heated clashes with Sanalla. Both have big egos and feel they should oversee the oil sector.
Sanalla, fanned by his international state allies, believes that the oil sector, and specifically the running of the NOC, is sacrosanct. It provides Libya’s strength and should not be meddled with. It should not be subjected to the tug-of-war of everyday politics.
On the other hand, Aoun feels that he is the overall political overseer of the oil sector and that Sanalla should reduce his role to the technical manager of the NOC. Broader political oil decisions should emanate from the cabinet through its oil minister, is Aoun’s view.
Beyond a strong personality clash and bad blood from the old NOC days, Sanalla has been operating for years without an oil minister and has found it difficult to accept a new master.
Why now?
Aoun has been pushing for Sanalla’s replacement since last year, but Aldabaiba had resisted. However, Sanalla could be the victim of a larger political dynamic. Aldabaiba could have sacked Sanalla to weaken Fathi Bashagha’s claim to his post.
Aldabaiba hopes to appease the east over and above Bashagha’s head. He hopes to make Basagha dispensable. Bengdara is from eastern Libya and Aldabaiba hopes that his appointment will help restart the pumping of the blockaded oil from the eastern oilfields.
The Aoun v Sanalla saga
It will be recalled that Oil Minister Aoun had in August 2021 suspended Sanalla, referred him to administrative investigation and appointed his temporary replacement. Sanalla refused to move, and his replacement refused to take over his position anyway.
In September Prime Minister Aldabaiba held a summit meeting with Aoun and Sanalla after the major public fallout between the two. However, after administering what seemed like a slap on the wrists, Aldabaiba took no further action. Both men kept their posts.
However, in October 2021 Aoun again suspended Sanalla and referred him to administrative investigation.
Aldabaiba agrees to replace Sanalla as head of NOC: News and analysis (libyaherald.com)
Aldabaiba’s Aoun-Sanalla crisis summit: Kiss and make up or slap on the wrist? (libyaherald.com)
