Libya's NOC state oil firm names new chief

Libya's NOC on Wednesday 30th Sep 2009 announced the appointment of Ali Seghir Mohamed Saleh, until now the company's director-general, as its new boss.

"The Secretary of the General People's Committee (the Libyan government) issued a letter requiring Mr. Ali Saleh to serve as Secretary of the Management Committee of the National Oil Corporation," the NOC said in a statement posted on Wednesday on its internet site.

The company has been without a fully-fledged head since the previous holder of the post, Dr. Shokri Ghanem, left earlier this month, causing concern for foreign oil majors who viewed him as a reliable partner in an often unpredictable country.

Industry sources said they did not expect Ali Saleh's appointment would draw a line under the uncertainty for the foreign oil majors in Libya, which include BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Ali Saleh represented Libya at a Sept. 9 meeting of OPEC energy ministers in Vienna. He stood in for Ghanem, whose unexplained absence had fuelled speculation that he was no longer in charge of the NOC.

(Reuters & SOC)