Independent NOC defies Libya’s rival governments

National Oil Corporation (NOC) is beset on every side by attacks on its independence. Each of the main factions in Libya’s civil conflict is determined to bring control over oil production and export within its own grasp, despite the newly established international quartet’s unanimous support for the principle that the sovereign institutions should remain free of political interference. On 27 March, NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla strongly rejected a resolution passed by the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) placing the corporation under the control of a newly proposed oil ministry.