National Oil Corporation
| State-owned enterprise | |
| Industry | Oil and gas industry |
| Founded | 1970 (in Benghazi) |
| Headquarters | Tripoli, Libya |
|
Key people
|
Mustafa Sanalla, Chairman |
| Products | Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Petrochemicals |
| Owner | Government of Libya |
| Subsidiaries |
Zawia Refining RASCO Brega Agoco Sirte Oil Co. Jowfe Oil Technology National Drilling Co. North Africa Geophysical Exploration Company National Oil Fields and Catering Company Waha Oil Co. |
| Website | www |
The National Oil Corporation (NOC; Arabic: المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط) is the national oil company of Libya. It dominates Libya's oil industry, along with a number of smaller subsidiaries, which combined account for around 70% the country's oil output. Of NOC's subsidiaries, the largest oil producer is the Waha Oil Company (WOC), followed by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco), Zueitina Oil Company (ZOC), and Sirte Oil Company (SOC).
Libya is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa (followed by Nigeria and Algeria), 41.5 Gbbl (6.60×109 m3) as of January 2007, up from 39.1 Gbbl (6.22×109 m3) in 2006. About 80% of Libya’s proven oil reserves are located in the Sirte Basin Province, which accounts for 90% of the country’s oil output. The province ranks 13th among the world’s petroleum provinces, having known reserves of 43.1 billion barrels (6.85×109 m3) of oil equivalent (367,00 000,000 bbl (0 m3) of oil, 37.7 trillion cubic feet (1.07×1012 m3) of gas, 0.1 Gbbl (16,000,000 m3) of natural gas liquids). The government dominates Libya's economy through control of oil resources, which account for approximately 95% of export earnings, 75% of government receipts, and over 50% of GDP, which was USD $50.2 billion in 2006.
Libya has attracted hydrocarbon exploration since 1956, when the first wildcat oil well was drilled onshore in the Sirte Basin. Libya granted multiple concessions to Esso, Mobil, Texas Gulf, and others, resulting in major oil discoveries by 1959. In 1969, the Idrissid monarchy was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. He eventually elaborated a new theory of the state in which all productive units and workplaces were to be directly governed by popular congresses. As part of his vision, the National Oil Corporation was established on 12 November 1970. The company’s first Chairman was Salem Mohammed Amesh, who was later replaced by Omar Muntasir. Under its articles of incorporation, NOC was legally restricted to Production sharing agreements (PSA) with international oil companies (IOCs) where the latter assumed all risks associated with exploration. In July 1970, further legislation made NOC responsible for marketing all domestic oil products.
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Wikipedia