By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 15 December 2014:
Abdullah Al-Thinni’s government has named Mohamed Al-Arabi as deputy chief for the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), one month after appointing Al-Mabrook Buseif as the organisation's chairman, while merging the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the NOC into a single body.
The move to name a deputy head further indicates the government’s attempt to strengthen its hold on the NOC. Omar Al-Hassi’s anti-government in Tripoli also has a NOC chairman, as well as a Minister of Oil and Gas.
Shortly after Buseif was appointed last month he attended Opec meetings in Vienna, while Hassi’s appointees were not invited. Buseif 's presence at the Vienna meetings was a small victory for Thinni’s government against Hassi’s rival Tripoli-based administration.
Thinni said last week that the government is setting up a settlement mechanism for a new method of payment for oil so that oil revenues do not reach Tripoli banks and possibly fall into the hands of Libya Dawn.
