Libya's ex-oil chief found dead in Danube

The body of Shokri Ghanem, a former chief of Libya's oil industry who defected from the Qaddafi regime, was found floating in the River Danube in Vienna on Sunday.

Ghanem, 69, had drowned, Austrian police told news agencies yesterday after a post-mortem examination. The body was found on Sunday near Ghanem's home in Vienna.

His death is one more development in the unravelling of the old oil industry in Libya, which is rebuilding after the eight-month civil war that Muammar Qaddafi from power.

As the prime minister and later the chairman of the national oil company, Ghanem opened up the biggest oil reserves in Africa to foreign investors and sought to push reforms to modernise an economy reliant on handouts.

He also held close control over the petroleum industry, creating a chain of command that required even decisions at minor oil subsidiaries to be approved at the very top, said analysts.

"Ghanem's personality centralised decision-making in Libya's oil industry," said Henry Smith, a Libya analyst at the consultancy Control Risks.

Since Ghanem's defection last June and the end of the civil war four months later, Libya's oil sector has been unmistakably reshaped even as it restored production that had dropped from 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) to 45,000 bpd during the conflict.

The interim government has created an oil ministry to work separately from the national oil company, separating the roles of operator and regulator that had previously been overseen by one man - Ghanem.

Subsidiaries of the national oil company, in particular from the former rebel headquarters in Benghazi, have also gained more operational independence.

This year, the Libyan general prosecutor launched in investigation into transactions between the national oil company and international traders as part of a nationwide sweep against Qaddafi-era corruption. The investigation threatens to dampen the enthusiasm of foreign companies to invest or return to the country.

Ghanem had helped Libya to negotiate some of the most generous terms for an oil-producing country in the region.

"There is a sense … that Libya may have to offer more favourable terms to keep foreign investors' interest there," said Mr Smith.

Today, Libya pumps 1.5 million bpd, close to its pre-war level, according to Abdulrahman ben Yezza, the current oil minister.

Ghanem's rise to the top levels of Libya's government began and ended in Vienna.

A graduate of the University of Libya in Benghazi and later at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Ghanem joined the Opec secretariat in 1993 as the director of research.

In the years that followed, he forged a close friendship with Saif Al Islam, one of Qaddafi's sons who was studying in Vienna.

In 2001, the younger Qaddafi persuaded his father to appoint Ghanem the minister of economy, and later prime minister. There the technocrat pushed forward reforms to liberalise the economy and welcome foreign investors.

Last June, four months after the beginning of the uprising, Ghanem used a business trip to Vienna as a pretext to leave the country.

He announced his defection and decision to back the rebels in the basement of a hotel in Rome.

"It is unbearable," he told journalists. "One cannot continue working."

ayee@thenational.ae

Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Fixtures:

Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final

Table:

1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10

2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8

3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6

4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4

5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2

The biog

Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"

How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying