On Monday, the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, announced a proposal to form a new force tasked with protecting oil installations. He noted that the guards will include civilian and military personnel.
In a joint press conference with the UN Acting Envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, Sanalla said that the mission of the new Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) is based on three components. Firstly, the industrial security of the corporation, secondly, a new protection force equipped with highly modern technologies, and thirdly a combat military force consisting of battalions to protect oil installations.
He clarified that there is no dispute over how the new guards’ unit would be formed. He indicated that their commander will be chosen by the oil corporation itself. Concerning the delayed salaries of the current PFG, Sanalla said that the corporation has nothing to do with this issue, as those guards are not affiliated with it.
He claimed that there were no security breaches in the oil institutions before 2011, but since then there have been many violations. Sanalla also added that the NOC is currently aiming to improve its performance in a way that does not affect the safety of individuals.
Notably, Williams arrived in Brega earlier today, on the sidelines of the start of talks to unify the PFG across the country.
The talks emanate from the meetings of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC), which represent the military track led by the United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to resolve the crisis.