Selling a national oil company

The National Oil and Gas Company of Lebanon. Sounds official. It isn’t. But not for a lack of trying. Many countries with revenue from mining the “Devil’s excrement” (or Satan’s flatulence, to extend the metaphor and fully capture the industry) have a state-owned company participating in oil and gas operations (a working interest, as it’s known). Why doesn’t Lebanon, asks Fuad Jawad, owner of the National Oil and Gas Company of Lebanon (NOGLC), who is trying to sell his company to the state. Governments use national oil companies (NOCs) to capture hydrocarbon revenues. Not every country with oil and gas reserves has one (meaning rents can be obtained by other means) and their roles vary from country to country (some are passive partners, focused on regulation, not putting boots on rigs; some actively participate in exploration and production, but only on local developments – often as a mandatory partner; some