Reuters reported that prominent UAE group Al Ghurair had no intention yet of selling its half ownership of Ras Lanuf, Libya's biggest refinery but also had not decided whether to go ahead with investing another USD 2 billion.
Mr Essa Al Ghurair vice chairman of Al Ghurair said that "We are committed to our investment. Before Libya's civil war his company had planned to invest an additional USD 2 billion to upgrade Ras Lanuf which accounts for almost two-thirds of Libya's oil refining capacity.
Mr Al Ghurair said that given the continuing instability in Libya, it is too early to revive those plans. If you don't give the wound enough time to heal, it will open again. Still today, the situation is fragile.
The operator of the refinery, Libyan Emirates Oil Refining Company is JV between the Libyan National Oil Company and Trasta Energy which is headed by the powerful Mr Al Ghurair family.
Mr Ras Lanuf, which ceased operations during last year's war that ousted leader Mr Muammar Gaddafi restarted in end August after several delays.
Industry sources said that a dispute between NOC and the Al Ghurair group over payments for crude oil caused the restart date to be pushed back.
