LIBYA - Profile - Abdullah Salem Al Badri.

The technocrat in charge of the hydrocarbon sector, Badri has been the secretary (minister) for energy since November 1992. He has a huge portfolio including the oil and gas and electricity sectors. This was established in 1992 after a merger of the oil and electricity secretariats. The merger was part of administrative changes and decentralisation moves passed since June 1992. Badri has been very active in promoting Libya to foreign E&P investors. He accelerated his effort immediately after the UN suspended its sanctions in April 1999.

Soon afterwards, at an oil and gas conference for Libya held in Geneva on April 19-20, 1999, Badri said that the current exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA-3) would be improved and other officials said subsequently that a new petroleum law would be expected next October. Badri invited to Libya all the foreign companies that participated in the conference.

The conference was attended by about 400 people from more than 100 foreign companies.

In side meetings at Geneva, Badri made it clear that he wanted to see back in Libya all the US companies that used to be involved in the country's oil sector. He met with a number of high ranking US executives. Badri told the participants that the new petroleum law "will be designed with the aspiration of developing all sectors of the oil industry in Libya, putting in service the accumulated experience of all national and international expertise in the oil industry". Under Badri's orders, the energy secretariat is putting its weight behind such conferences to improve the country's image and attract potential partners.

Badri heads Libya's delegation to OPEC meetings. From November 1996 to the organisation's ministerial meeting of June 1997, he was OPEC president. In early 1999 he became active in OPEC efforts to defend oil prices. A pragmatic strategist, Badri is committed to the expansion of Libya's oil production capacity and the widening of its market share with emphasis on Europe. He is working on Agip's plan to build a major gas pipeline to Italy across the Mediterranean. Badri co-operates closely with other ministries, in particular the Foreign Liaison Secretary, in trying to get the US oil companies back to Libya.

Badri headed the state-owned National Oil Company (NOC) years before he became energy secretary. He was promoted to the top NOC post by former Foreign Liaison Secretary Omar Al Montasser when the latter was the secretary in charge of the hydrocarbon sector. Badri's mission is also to consolidate the overseas oil sales networks of Oilinvest, the external arm of the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank and NOC. The Oilinvest system in Europe and North Africa is vital to the country and is a key factor in the planned expansion of Libya's upstream sector. Badri and some of his aides are on the board of Oilinvest.

Apart from being the energy secretary from 1992, Badri has been chairman of NOC until a few years ago. Now NOC's chairman is Hammouda Al Aswad, who has been working under Badri for a long time. Most heads of NOC's subsidiaries also have been working under Badri for a long time.

NOC's operations are overseen by people's committees, with each group in charge of a branch of the hydrocarbon industry and headed by a figure loyal to Qadhafi. The committee on E&P, for example, has a great deal of influence on rejecting or approving deals with foreign companies before these are passed on to higher bodies. As in the case of the other ministries, the energy secretariat has people's committees as well. So Badri's hands are tied to a certain extent, despite the fact that he is more powerful than several secretaries in the current Tripoli administration.