TRIPOLI – Libya’s internationally recognised government said it had allocated 1.5 billion Libyan dinars ($1.06 billion) for the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to maintain oil production in 2019-2020, according to a resolution shared with journalists on Saturday.
The resolution said 1.2 billion dinars was allocated “for projects that contribute in the maintenance of current production rates and increase the productive capacity of the oil and gas sector”. A further 300 million was allocated for pay the NOC’s obligations to other companies.
The resolution stated that the Central Bank deposit the sum in “an emergency account” for the NOC to spend as planned.
It also said the money would be drawn from fees imposed since 2018 on sales of foreign exchange, in a bid to end the gap between the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
The NOC has frequently complained in the past that it was not receiving sufficient funding from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).
Last week it said in a statement that production was expected to be severely affected if it did not get the budget funding it needed from the government.
The NOC also said the government “reduced the approved budget of the Corporation and its companies twice” this year without prior notice.
OPEC member Libya’s oil production has fluctuated sharply in recent years due to attacks, protests and political conflict in the turmoil following the country’s 2011 uprising.
The country has been split since 2014 between rival camps based in Tripoli and the east, though the NOC in Tripoli has continued to control oil production, with revenues flowing through the central bank in the capital.
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