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By Jamal Adel.
Beida 22 April 2015:
Two tankers have been turned away from Hariga in the last 48 hours after the oil . . .[restrict]export terminal was forced to shut down yet again by striking guards.
Petroleum Facility Guards are reportedly once again protesting over delays in the payment of their salaries.
Omar Al-Zuwai, a spokesman for AGOCO which runs the terminal told the Libya Herald: “The PFG prevented oil tanker from docking at Hariga this morning by this protest about pay”.
Another tanker was expected to arrive today he said. If the blockade continued AGOCO could find itself facing demands to compensate the purchasers and their shippers.
Zuwai also warned that stopping the loading of any crude was causing technical and storage problems at the terminal, which has a loading capacity of 51,000 b/d but a limited tank farm.
“As the oil keeps pouring in from the oilfields” said Zuwai, “ we will soon run out of space”
Hariga, which takes most of its oil from AGOCO’s Sarir field, has been plagued by a series of strikes, most of which have been caused by the non-payment of salaries. The oil company, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, is not directly responsible for the pay of the guards, which technically falls under the Oil Ministry. However in the past, it appears that it has helped settle outstanding salaries the avoid the higher cost of delayed or lost tanker loading.
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