Libya oil company boss ignores minister's suspension order

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  • The head of Libya's state energy company has defied a suspension by the country's oil minister
  • Chaired a meeting of the organisation's board

The head of Libya's state energy company has defied a suspension by the country's oil minister and chaired a meeting of the organisation's board, in what is the latest development in a power struggle between the two men.

Mustafa Sanalla, who has served as the National Oil Corp.’s (NOC) chairman for seven years, has seemingly ignored a letter from oil minister Mohamed Oun, which called for him to temporarily step down after leaving the country on a business trip without getting the necessary permission, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg.

The NOC's Facebook page said Sanalla attended a meeting of the board in Tripoli on Sunday, and he was quoted as saying that the organisation has “faced great challenges and overcome them all, thanks to God and the cooperation of its workers,.”

He also claimed the NOC wouldn’t be deterred from its “patriotic” message by “naysayers and losers.”

Sanalla represented Libya at meetings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries until March, when Oun was appointed as the country’s first oil minister since 2014.