The potential role and responsibilities of a new Benghazi office for Libya's energy authorities, the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the National Oil Corporation (NOC), has generated strong reactions in recent weeks.

The ministry had officially announced the opening of its Benghazi branch in June, but this month appeared to run into trouble when a group of NOC employees in Tripoli protested about the powers being granted to the new office. In a statement posted on the NOC website on 10 October, they objected to what they said was the transfer of powers over certain state-owned companies - including the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO), the Sirte Oil Company (SOC), the Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company - to Benghazi, which they said would threaten national unity. 

A day later, the NOC released a statement saying that a new decision, Resolution 100, would amend the terms of the original decree, but that it had not cancelled the decision to set up a Benghazi office. Soon afterwards it published an advertisement for three senior jobs in the Benghazi branch, including a financial manager and a research manager. 

The issue has also caused tension amongst employees working in the energy sector in eastern Libya.

Employees at Ras Lanuf reportedly downed tools for several hours last week in protest, while a group of AGOCO employees issued a statement voicing their concerns about the ministry reneging on its commitment to a Benghazi office.

A statement published by Sirte Oil Company workers also called on the current oil and gas minister, Abderrahman Ben Yezzer, to be excluded from any new government, and even demanded that the headquarters of the NOC be moved from Tripoli to Benghazi.

One reason for the sensitivity of this issue is the importance of eastern Libya to the wider energy sector. AGOCO is Libya's biggest crude oil producer, for instance, while north-east Libya is home to the country's largest refinery, Ras Lanuf, and other important export terminals at Marsa el-Brega and Tobruk.

Another factor is historical. The NOC's predecessor, the Libyan General Petroleum Company (LIPETCO), was set up in Benghazi in April 1968 when the city was still the seat of King Idris. The NOC was established in November 1970, a year after Muammar Gaddafi came to power, and like several other government institutions was relocated to Tripoli.

Some groups in eastern Libya also feel that - despite the region's role in igniting the 2011 uprising - they continue to be marginalised by the central authorities in Tripoli.

This relates to the wider and still unresolved question of how much political and economic power will be devolved to the local level, and whether any weight will be given to the level of natural resources in any particular area.

It is now thought that a decision on the role of the Benghazi office will be postponed until a new government is formed, with the broader issue of decentralisation set to be a major debating point in the drafting of a new Libyan constitution.