After his graduation, Arusi worked in the Sirte Oil Company in different management positions from September 1992 to June 1998. He was then detained in prison between 1998 and 2006. After being released, he held various executive management positions in many engineering companies, including the one in the United Kingdom. He served as executive manager of Libya's Green Holding Company from the end of 2011 to November 2012.
In November 2012, he was appointed minister of oil and gas to the cabinet headed by prime minister Ali Zeidan. Arusi replaced Abdulrahman Ben Yezza as oil minister. Shortly after his appointment, in December 2012, Arusi announced the establishment of the National Corporation for the Exploration and Production of Oil and Gas, a national oil company based in Tripoli. In February 2013, he reported that a new oil area was found in Ghadames Basin, about 650 km southwest of Tripoli, in the western Libya. Arusi's term ended in January 2014 and Omar Shakmak was appointed acting oil minister.