Libyan oil workers threatened with army violence

This video is called Migrant workers in Libya live in fear.

By Essam Mohamed, 19 August 2013:

Libya Vows to Protect Oil Production

Tripoli — Libya‘s government is threatening military action to put an end to disruptions of oil production and exports.

The additional security crisis comes as Libyan Interior Minister Mohamed Khalifa Sheikh resigned on Sunday (August 18th).

Ministry spokesman Rami Kaal told Libya Herald that according to the minister, he decided to quit because Prime Minister Ali Zidan had not supported his “solutions to activate the police and the interior ministry”.

The minister “said he did not have sufficient prerogatives to carry out his policies”, MP Abdallah al-Gmati also told AFP.

Khalifa is the second government official to resign in the last two weeks. On August 3rd, Deputy Prime Minister Awadh al-Barassi resigned, citing the deteriorating security situation and the inability of the government to end a wave of violence.

A stern posture was adopted by Zidan last week, however, regarding the oil strikes and port disruptions.

“If the blockade of the oil terminals continues, the state will be obliged to use all means at its disposal, including those of the army,” AFP quoted Prime Minister Ali Zidan as saying at a press conference last Thursday. “This is a warning.” …

The prime minister also addressed the issue of sit-ins at oil facilities and attacks on state institutions.

“We won’t use the army only, but all means available to the state,” he added. …

[Oil and Gas Minister Abdulbari] Al-Arusi also warned of the consequences of shutting off oilfields and ports on the country’s economy.

“Since July 25th, we’ve lost about $1.6 billion as a result of such closures and the bad relations in market,” he said. “We’ve lost many clients and found out that many of the contractors go for other markets, and that they have even filed complaints and legal actions.”

Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thani pledged to have “the defence ministry and the Libyan army’s general staff at the disposal of the Libyan people to protect their resources”.

By Ali Algattani, 20 August 2013:

Libyan Oil Sector Disruptions Continue

Benghazi — After a swift comeback following the revolution, its daily production dropped from 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to 600,000 bpd.

At the ports of the so-called “oil crescent” — Ras Lanuf, Sidra, Brega and Zueitina — members of the Oil Facilities Protection Forces launched blockades in protest of what they said “were sales to foreign tankers without metres to count sold barrels”. …

Arabian Gulf Oil Company workers have been staging a strike since the second day of Eid al-Fitr in protest of the dismissal of board chairman Ahmed al-Mejbri and the appointment of a new board.

The walkout halted the production of that company, the biggest among its counterparts. They now only have enough oil to operate the company’s own refinery.

Members of Libya’s Amazigh community stormed the General National Congress (GNC) last Tuesday (August 13th) to protest what they say is their marginalisation, AFP reported: here.

Libya at a crossroads as strikes threaten oil supplies. Production slumps as workers seize ports in protest at Tripoli’s failure to revive moribund economy despite bumper oil revenues: here.

Why Libya is facing it’s worse political crisis since Gaddafi’s defeat: here.  

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