(Reuters) -
Libya's eastern Es Sider oil export port, the country's biggest, has
been shut due to fighting nearby between forces representing the
country's competing governments, an oil official said on Sunday. Air strikes on
Saturday by forces loyal to Libya's recognized government hit targets
near the port, aiming to stop an advance by troops of the rival
administration in Tripoli seeking to take control of oil facilities in
the country's east. Clashes
were continuing near Es Sider, Tripoli-based al-Nabaa television
station said on Sunday, adding that a force allied to the government in
the capital was at the gates of the terminal. The
Ras Lanuf port east of Es Sider was still operating but the al-Waha Oil
Co running the Es Sider port had halted work, the official said. A
worker said staff had left the site for security reasons. The
company had been producing around 200,000 barrels a day, data from the
state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) showed earlier this month. NOC had
previously put the OPEC member's output at around 755,000 bpd, though
this included some 140,000 bpd of refined products partly consumed
locally. Libya's oil
industry had seen a modest recovery from a wave of protests until last
month, when the 340,000 bpd-El Sharara oil field in the south closed due
to clashes and a pipeline closure. The
fighting near the Es Sider port is part of a struggle in the North
African country between competing governments allied to armed factions
3-1/2 years after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. The
recognized prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, has been forced into the
east since a group called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August and set
up its own government and parliament. Ibrahim
Jathran, head of a petroleum protection force guarding Es Sider and
three other eastern oil ports, said his force had repulsed the advance. "We
confirm to the Libyan people that their resources are secure and under
the protection of their sons," Jathran told a local television station.
Appearing in military uniform, he said he remained loyal to Thinni and
the House of Representatives, the assembly elected in June which also
works out of the east. Last
month, Libya Dawn took control of El Sharara after a force allied to
Thinni had withdrawn. But production remains shut down due to a pipeline
closure by a rival group. Jathran
has threatened to call for eastern secession should world powers
recognize the General National Congress, the rival assembly based in
Tripoli.
Libya's largest oil export port closed due to clashes: oil official
Reuters
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