NOC warns of continuing deteriorating security conditions at Gulf of Sirte oil facilities

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 20 July 2020:

Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) said Saturday that it was deeply concerned at the serious deterioration in the security situation in areas surrounding oil facilities in the Gulf of Sirte.

It reported that violent clashes took place last Thursday and Friday in the Brega region, only hundreds of meters away from oil tanks, between the Al-Saiqa forces and the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), both aligned to Khalifa Haftar.

The NOC reported that the two sets of forces exchanged gunfire using medium-sized, 23mm-caliber firearms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), which it said reflects the lack of responsibility and military discipline among these armed groups, whose actions jeopardize oil facilities and threaten the safety of NOC workers as well the residents in the surrounding areas.

In light of these serious developments, NOC stressed the importance of evicting Wagner Group, Syrian and Janjaweed mercenaries from its facilities and called for an end to the militarization of its installations under international supervision and the restructuring of security arrangements in oil regions to be under the protection of a professional, disciplined and independent security force.