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By Libya Herald staff.
26 December 2014:
Fire at a tank at the Sidra oil terminal – Libya’s largest – has spread to . . .[restrict]another two, the Libya Herald has been informed.
The fire started when the tank was hit during an attack yesterday on the terminal by Operation Sunrise forces belonging to Libya Dawn. (At the time it was erroneously reported that two tanks were hit; only one was struck and set ablaze.)
Today, an oil official at Ras Lanouf has said that the situation was dangerous and that staff had been evacuated.
According to Ali Al-Hassi, the spokesman for the Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) responsible for protecting the terminal, the first tank was set ablaze by a missile fired from a speed boat belonging to Sunrise forces. He claimed the boat was one of number taking part in the attack but they had been subsequently destroyed by the LNA planes.
This is disputed by the spokesman for Operation Sunrise, Ismail Ashukri. Further to yesterday’s denial that the missile was fired by Sunrise forces he says that no boats were used in the operation. They were not needed, he has been quoted saying today, because “we’re making progress [to the terminal] on the ground”.
An independent journalist has been to Sidra, however, and has reported that the whole area is in the hands of the PFG.
Before the strike, Sidra terminal was able to export almost 450,000 b/d. [/restrict]
