LIBYA - Profile - Ezzeddin Hamyouni.

An upstream petroleum expert and a geologist, Hamyouni is the deputy chairman of NOC and heads NOC's Joint Operation and Monitoring Division (JOMD. A most powerful part of NOC, the JOMD is in charge of the E&P joint ventures and checks on the work of the foreign operators. He is also a member of NOC's governing council.

At the same time, Hamyouni chairs the three people's committees that are in charge of relations with the foreign E&P partners of NOC, exploration and the downstream sector. These committees are quite powerful and are tending to act in parallel with, rather than under the control of, NOC's governing council.

Hamyouni, however, is a very cautious technocrat. He is far less powerful than the members of the three committees, most of whom promoted by the "inner circles" of Qadhafi. So while he is rated as "the Number Two man" in NOC, Hamyouni has no power base. His authority is nowhere to compare with that of Dr. Zlitni, who is a prominent economist as is highly respected among Qadhafi's "inner circles".

Nor does Hamyouni's power compare with that of other executives who are protgs of Qadhafi's "inner circle" members (see Gas Market Trends).

Hamyouni is a dedicated man keen on the transfer to Libya of the most advanced IOR and EOR technologies. He is in favour of granting special incentives to companies having such capabilities and willing to invest in Libya as partners.

Hamyouni works closely with Abdel Rahman Abdullah, who in March 2003 succeeded Azzam Misallati as head of NOC's production division, and Ibrahim Al Baggar who is in charge of exploration.

Because of the changes since March 2000, Hamyouni has toned down his call for special incentives to highly qualified foreign companies. Worried that he might lose his job, with most of the committees' members being unpredictable, he keeps to himself and has become a regular visitor to the mosque for prayers.