LIBYA-SECURITY/OILFIELD Desert oilfield standoff mirrors Libya's internal conflict
Record ID:
344600
LIBYA-SECURITY/OILFIELD Desert oilfield standoff mirrors Libya's internal conflict
- Title: LIBYA-SECURITY/OILFIELD Desert oilfield standoff mirrors Libya's internal conflict
- Date: 8th December 2014
- Summary: EL SHARARA, LIBYA (DECEMBER 6, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THE EL SHARARA OILFIELD SIGN READING: 'Akakus Oil Operations' VARIOUS OF PUMPING STATIONS PUMP COUNTERS VARIOUS OF WORKERS UNLOADING FOOD AND AIR FROM MILITARY HELICOPTER OIL FORCE COMMANDER, MOHAMED ESMAIDA, TALKING ON HIS PHONE SIGN ON STORAGE TANK READING: 'Akakus Oil Operations' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OIL FORCE COMMANDER MOHAMED, ESMAIDA TALKING, SAYING: "We have been appointed by the chief of staff to secure the field since November 7, 2014. When we arrived in the field, we found that mess and robbery plagued the field. Thanks to the efforts of the young men residing in the area, we managed to bring back around 80 per cent of the cars and secure the field on November 12, 2014 and managed to operate the field in the morning shift." VARIOUS OF OIL TANKS VARIOUS OF PIPES PUMP COUNTER WORKER CHECKING PUMPS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OIL FORCE COMMANDER MOHAMED, ESMAIDA TALKING, SAYING: "During the evening shift, the pipe located in Riyyana area was shut down by rivals from Zintan. The current situation for the field is excellent and a number of companies have contacted us, asking us to secure some areas that witness exploration for the fields and secure areas where their companies are located." VARIOUS OF STORAGE TANKS / VARIOUS OF PIPES WORKERS GATHERED AT OIL PIPE METERS VARIOUS OF PIPES WITH PRESSURE COUNTERS PUMP COUNTER VARIOUS OF PIPES WITH PRESSURE COUNTERS VARIOUS OF FIRE CHIMNEYS WHICH ARE NOT ACTIVE
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Libya
- Country: Libya
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABGFOHP3LOPIYBUJ4RH4TYFXRL
- Story Text: Deep in Libya's southern Sahara, men in army uniforms guard a pipeline at the El Sharara oilfield. Hundreds of kilometers to the north, rival fighters turn off the pumps to stop the oil flowing.
The standoff over El Sharara illustrates the complex challenge United Nations mediators face in holding together a country heading towards a civil war between factions allied with rival cities scrambling for control.
U.N. envoys plan to bring the Libyan rivals together on Tuesday (December 9) for a dialogue, but the conflict is spreading with both sides increasingly at odds over the OPEC country's vast oil resources.
Since the 2011 revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has enjoyed little stability. But rivalries worsened after a group called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August, setting up its own government and forcing the recognized Prime Minister, Abdullah al-Thinni, to flee to the east.
Protesters opposed to a rival government in Tripoli controlling the field then blocked a pipeline that runs from the site.
At El Sharara, one of the country's largest fields, guards securing its storage areas, pumps and pipes are led by officers from Misrata, a coastal city 1,000 km (600 miles) to the north and power base of Libya Dawn.
Oil force commander Mohamed Esmaida, says that he and his team have managed to secure the majority of the oilfield.
"We have been appointed by the chief of staff to secure the field since November 7, 2014. When we arrived in the field, we found that mess and robbery plagued the field. Thanks to the efforts of the young men residing in the area, we managed to bring back around 80 per cent of the cars and secure the field on November 12, 2014 and managed to operate the field in the morning shift," said Esmaida, referred to the chief of staff of the government rival to Thinni's.
He added that a number of companies have contacted his team to help secure their locations.
"During the evening shift, the pipe located in Riyyana area was shut down by rivals from Zintan. The current situation for the field is excellent and a number of companies have contacted us, asking us to secure some areas that witness exploration for the fields and secure areas where their companies are located," said Esmaida.
Esmaida took over the field with around 400 guards driving Toyota pickups, a month ago after rivals from Zintan, a western region, withdrew. His men wear uniforms with "Libyan army" tags -- like many Zintan fighters.
The Zintanis, allied to Thinni, had already pulled out of the capital after a battle with Libya Dawn over the summer. Now to make sure their rivals don't benefit from the oil they have closed an El Sharara pipe valve crossing their territory.
Just 70 km west of El Sharara, co-owned by Spain's Repsol, lies another oilfield called El Feel run by Italy's ENI, which the self-declared Tripoli government has also been trying to restart - but pipelines also cross Zintan land.
Libya's conflict is broadly pitting urban communities from coastal cities such as Misrata against tribes in the hinterland in a decades-long rivalry. Both sides fought together to topple the strongman in 2011, but have been fighting each other over who controls the oil producer.
That inter-region conflict is further complicated by rivalries between tribes, tensions between former Gaddafi units and staunchly anti-Gaddafi adversaries, and by infighting between more Islamist-leaning and nationalist forces.
Each side is also trying to win recognition from neighbours such as Egypt, Algeria and regional powers in the Middle East.
The U.N. talks have so far focused on convincing the new Tripoli rulers to accept the legitimacy of the House of Representatives, the elected assembly working out of a remote city in east.
But this approach has come under pressure as the rival government has spread its power by taking over Tripoli ministries and oil facilities. Thinni has also drawn U.N. condemnation for launching air strikes on western Libya.
A big challenge for mediators is that each side only controls parts of the vast nation, leaving large areas where few take orders from anyone.
Clashes between competing local tribes have made the roads from El Sharara to the next cities Ubari and Sabha too dangerous to bring in food. An air force base around 200 km away, controlled by Dawn, supplies the field.
The gated oilfield with its 24h power supply, swimming pool, gym and other amenities rare in the poor south keeps attracting unwelcome interest from tribesmen demanding financial benefits.
Armed men have stormed the field three times since October 2013, forcing costly shutdowns. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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