TRIPOLI: An armed group has shut down export operations at Libya’s crude oil port of Ras Lanuf in a move believed to be linked to a similar closure of the country’s main export terminal last week, industry sources said yesterday.
It was not immediately clear what the group wanted, but three Libyan industry sources drew comparisons with the shutdown of Opec member Libya’s Es Sider crude oil export terminal overnight on Thursday.
Es Sider was closed by armed guards who were demanding the payment of what they said were late salaries, an industry source said on Friday.
Ras Lanuf is a large complex in eastern Libya which includes the North African country’s biggest refinery and a separate port. Several fields belonging to the Harouge oil company pump oil to the port.
Another oil source who spoke to workers at the facility said men linked to the group that shut down Es Sider had closed Ras Lanuf port: “After they closed the port of Es Sider, some went to the Harouge port yesterday to close it by force.”
Reuters
