NOC chair issues warning of disaster ‘greater than Port of Beirut’

On 8 August, the chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah, spoke in a video about the impact of militarisation of oil facilities on the public safety of employees and local residents. Sanallah said the militarisation of oil installations and presence of mercenaries ‘increases the risks of hydrocarbon and chemical materials stored in the oil ports to workers and the local population,’ explaining that key export terminals also house commodities like ammonia. He warned that this militarisation and presence of mercenaries could cause a disaster ‘greater than the Port of Beirut’ and could keep Libya out of the oil market for many years. He estimated that they could result in missed opportunities estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, in addition to costly reconstruction.Click here to see the full statement.