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| Africa North |
| Libya's recognised govt warns tankers away from Ras Lanuf port |
| 2015-07-10 |
| [Al Ahram] Libya's recognized government warned its security forces would seize any tankers approaching the Ras Lanuf terminal without permission, saying any attempt to make oil deals with the rival government in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... would be "piracy". The warning over Ras Lanuf illustrates how the OPEC country's oil industry is caught up in a power struggle between the two rival governments and their armed forces, who have each appointed competing figures in the state oil company. The internationally recognised government and elected parliament has operated in the east since last year, when an armed faction called Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... took over the capital, set up its own government and took control of ministries in Tripoli. Earlier this week, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) based in Tripoli said it was lifting the force majeure measure on the Ras Lanuf oil terminal which had been shut since December because of fighting between the rival factions. But Ras Lanuf is protected by an armed force allied to the internationally recognised government, which has appointed its own NOC chief who claims to represent the country's industry. The recognised government's NOC chairman, Yusef Bu Saifi, told Rooters the force majeure was still in effect and orders had been given to the Petroleum Facilities Guard or PFG at Ras Lanuf. "We have asked the PFG to intercept any tankers trying to approach the oilfields for security and technical reasons. The force majeure is still in place," he said. Hatem Oraibi, front man of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni's recognized government, said any tankers dealing with the Tripoli government could be considered as committing piracy. Oil guards at Ras Lanuf say they have received orders to warn vessels away and to arrest crew if they did not comply. |
| Posted by:Fred |