The Chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara held talks with Brett McGurk, the US National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
The meeting, which was held at the White House, was attended by Jeremy Bernstein, North Africa official at the National Security Council.
“During the meeting, the American side praised the Corporation’s important role in achieving energy security in Libya, and the region,” the NOC said in a statement on Wednesday.
“They also hailed the NOC’s efforts to lift the force majeure, and continue oil and gas production and export operations, which greatly contributed to security and economic stability,” the statement added.
The meeting comes as part of a series of meetings held by Bengdara with US government officials on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference.
“The US government has affirmed the support of the Corporation and its Board of Directors to implement its strategy in capacity building and increasing oil and gas production,” the statement concluded.
Earlier this week, Bengdara held a meeting with US the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt in Washington.
According to a statement by the NOC, Bengdara stressed the need for US companies to return to resume work in the Libyan oil and gas sector.
Pyatt affirmed Washington’s support of the NOC in implementing its production strategy. The US diplomat praised the role of the Corporation’s Board of Directors in contributing to raising and stabilising production rates.
Bengdara also met with US Deputy Secretary of Energy, David Turk and Victoria Taylor, Director of the Office of North Africa Department at the US State Department, in two separate meetings.
Notably, Bengdara headed a Libyan delegation at the activities of the global energy conference of CERAWeek in Houston, Texas. The conference was held from 6-10 March 2023. The NOC’s Chairman held a number of meetings with several international companies interested in the Libyan oil and gas sector.
During these meetings, he emphasised the NOC’s plans to raise production capacity, and increase production.
