Libya’s NOC appears one step closer to restarting the country’s largest refinery, the 220,000 b/d-capacity Ras Lanuf plant, after the conclusion of an arbitration proceeding at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris late last month. The state firm says the result clears the way for it to purchase Emirati firm Trasta Energy’s 50% stake in the Lerco JV.
Lerco nominally operates the refinery which has been shut-in since August 2013. The two sides have since been locked in a legal tussle, with Trasta (unsuccessfully) seeking hundreds of millions in compensation from NOC due to its closure (MEES, 5 March). (CONTINUED - 170 WORDS)