Eng. Dergham: Waha Oil Company was established in 1956. Our first oil discovery was made in 1959, in Dahra field. In 1962, we started pumping oil to our terminal. At the time, it was operated by Conoco (now known as Conoco Phillips), Amerada Hess, and Marathon. In 1968, Shell joined the group and bought some shares from Amerada Hess. We established a company on behalf of these companies and worked as operators. In 1973, after the 1969 revolution, the group sat down with the National Oil Company - NOC and the company shares were split 51-49%, with the majority belonging to the state. In 1974, Shell declined to sign this agreement and NOC bought their shares, which made the split 59-41%. This brought about the establishment of Oasis Oil C/o Limited, operated jointly by all the parties involved. Since then, we worked positively for the benefit of all. In 1986, former US President Ronald Reagan issued an executive order to all American oil companies to withdraw from Libya. This led to an agreement between the National Oil Company and the American oil companies to freeze all previous agreements for three years, pending another review. But then the sanctions came into place and they never returned. We had to start being operators by ourselves, on behalf of NOC. NOC became the sole owner of what is now known today as Waha Oil Company. Five years ago, the previous parties involved re-established communications with NOC and with us. They are currently in an advanced stage of negotiations with NOC to resume the positions they abandoned. This is still ongoing and is still not in its final stage, but there are indications that they will return and re-claim their shares. If this takes place we will continue operating on behalf of the foreign oil companies and NOC.
I am excited at the prospect of their return because it will allow us to share and combine new ideas and experiences. Specially, from an engineering point of view, it would be very productive for us to re-establish that link. We would like to see our old friends come back and to work with them for the benefit of all the involved parties.

Waha Oil Company is involved in upstream activities; from oil exploration, drilling, production to shipping.

United World: What kind of changes do you anticipate within Waha Oil, if and when your previous American partners return?

Eng. Dergham: It is difficult to say what will change exactly, but I am sure this will trigger positive changes. We are currently facing some difficulties; for example budget approvals can be protracted and consequently affect our operations. I am certain that if our foreign partners return, these decisions will be made more quickly as they will be contributing to the finances. Another difficulty we are facing is linked to Human Resources; there is a shortage of engineers in the oil field in Libya and we know that when our partners return they will provide for qualified Human Resources and training knowledge. Last but not least is our difficulty in accessing advanced technology; thanks to our partners it will be easier for us to get the latest technology and bring our employees up-to-date with what is available in the global market.

United World: Please tell us about what these second parties should expect to find in Waha Oil upon their return.

Eng. Dergham: The recent meeting that took place between the consortium, NOC and Waha Oil was positive. They were brought up-to-date with how we have been operating and what we have achieved since their departure. They found that everything was generally in good condition and that there were no changes that went against their own philosophies, in terms of management etc.

United World: One of the biggest changes in Libya's oil sector is the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements (EPSA). What does EPSA mean to Waha Oil?

Eng. Dergham: We are not part of the current EPSA. We belong to a concessions agreement, which took place in the late 1950s and some EPSA first generation agreement. As I mentioned earlier, we therefore continue to operate as usual.

United World: However, there will be a change in market activity as more and more oil companies gain oil concessions through the EPSA bidding process. Are you confident of Waha Oil's continued strong position in the market?

Eng. Dergham: Yes. I am confident that we will continue to operate well. This will not affect us because we are still operators, we still have concessions that have not been developed and we have a lead on other companies that are coming in. Hopefully, we will discover more oil in the near future.

United World: The Libyan Oil and Gas sector is set to be revolutionized as American Companies come back to operate in this market. What do you think is the best aspect of the Libyan-American working relationship?

Eng. Dergham: We represent what is in the best interest of our country. American technology and management contributes to our development in the oil sector, which in turn benefits our interests.

United World: How would you assess the future of Waha Oil?

Eng. Dergham: It's very difficult to give you a 6-month projection, but in the long run, we feel there is a lot of potential for further oil discoveries in our fields and consequently, further development.

United World: How do you cooperate with the NOC, in terms of management and decision-making process?

Eng. Dergham: We draw up the budget, which we present to NOC, which also approves all technical details. NOC approves the budget according to the available funds. NOC approves some of our projects, delays others and cancels a few. NOC has a higher authority, which is The General People's Congress, which regulates its own budget. Therefore, NOC is also limited in its resources in some ways. They have to find a fair distribution of their budget for all the oil companies they operate. This is why I feel that when an outside part is involved (the foreign companies), the budget approvals will be more flexible. This will impact our operations in a positive way.

United World: How do you think Waha Oil fares in comparison to other oil companies operating here?

Eng. Dergham: Naturally, I will tell you we are the best at what we do. I think this question would be more appropriate for our superiors at the National Oil Company. They appreciate our projects, our ideas and presentations. We've also kept our cost per barrel , in the range of $1.8-$2. That speaks for itself.

United World: Why do you think Libya is an attractive place to invest in?

Eng. Dergham: I believe it is a good country to invest in for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Libya is politically stable, we don't have any internal conflicts; we have a homogenous population, and a small one as well. Secondly, it is a virgin market for investors, which is an attraction to foreigners.

United World: Do you think the oil sector has a responsibility towards acting as a window of opportunity for foreigners to invest in other sectors of the economy?

Eng. Dergham: I think to a certain extent, yes. The other thing I want to mention is that things are improving in sectors that were lagging behind in the past; like the services sector, banking, hotels, etc. I am sure that improvement in the services sector will encourage foreign investors to come to the country.

United World: Please tell us a little about yourself.

Eng. Dergham: I graduated from the University in Tripoli as a petroleum engineer, in 1978. I joined NOC for three years and I was lucky they sent me to the United States (Colorado), where I stayed for one year. I enjoyed my time over there very much. People were very pleasant and friendly. Then I went to the United Kingdom for eight months, and finally joined Waha Oil. The first ten years, I was an operations staff engineer, then I became a senior staff member, then eventually as operations manager. In 1999, I was promoted to being a member of the Management Committee. In between, I went to Canada for some graduate studies in Calgary, as well as back to England for another year. My next challenge is the further continued development of this oil company.

United World: Do you have a final message for our readers that you would like to share?

Eng. Dergham: My final message to Americans is to ask them to judge the country from first-hand knowledge, rather than through third parties who tend to portray the country negatively. There are a lot of opportunities for businessmen here and now is the time to come and discover them.