Introduction
On May 4, 2023, the judgment of the Zawiya Court of Appeal in the First Administrative Division, registered under No. 216 – 2022, was issued against the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 918 of 2022, which pertains to the approval procedures for the sale of a share owned by a foreign company in Waha Oil Company, which was the text of the decision as follows:
‘’ Article (1)
The approval procedures for the sale of Hess Libya’s share in Al-Waha Company to Conoco Phillips and Total Energy shall be approved, as presented at the fourteenth ordinary cabinet meeting of 2022 referred to.
Article (2)
This decree shall enter into force from the date of its issuance, and any provision contrary to it shall be repealed, and the competent authorities shall implement it.’’
Legal Facts
On April 30, 2021, the French company TotalEnergies submitted an offer to purchase shares from the American company Hess in their joint oil exploration and production contract (EPSA) with the Libyan Oasis Company. The contract provides the Libyan state with the right of pre-emption, and the sale was approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 552 of 2020, attached to Resolution No. 118 of 2022.
