The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Farhat Bengdara said that fuel used every year to operate power plants cost more than eight billion US dollars, while approximately four billion dollars are used to supply fuel for other areas of usage.
Bengdara's remarks came during an expanded meeting with the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to follow up on the fuel file in all its technical and financial aspects, in the presence of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, Suhail Abu Shiha, the General Manager of the Brega Oil Marketing Company, Fouad Belrahim, and members of the committee formed to review the fuel payment mechanism and appropriate financing.
The committee gave a detailed presentation on the Audit Bureau’s observations regarding fuel and the increase in the quantities consumed in 2022 compared to 2021 in gasoline and diesel, in addition to the practical proposals regarding the supplies and their distribution.
Bengdara said that there was no mechanism that could determine the need for the needed quantities of gasoline and diesel, in addition to forming a committee for the economy, planning, finance, and the NOC as well as the General Electricity Corporation of Libya (GECOL), to determine the actual needs of power stations.
The two sides also reviewed proposed mechanisms regarding paying the value of fuel through exchange and other financial payment procedures, while Dbeibah called for providing alternatives to fuel subsidies, and preparing an integrated study to be presented to citizens to know the targeted solutions for this issue.
Dbeibah assigned the committee to follow up on the GECOL’s needs of diesel and gas, determine the losses in these items, and place the actual need for operation in the 2024 plan. He called on all relevant institutions to submit results within two weeks to provide realistic numbers on expenses, needs, and general perception, whether for purchasing fuel or cash support for citizens instead of fuel subsidies.
