Libya: “Eni’s Elephant Onshore Oil Plant Closed”

A group of Libyan demonstrators stopped the production of the oil field El Feel (Elephant), located in the south-west of the country and managed by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between the National Oil Corporation (Noc) and Eni.

 

This was reported to “Agenzia Nova” by a Libyan source present on the site which, when fully operational, extracts approx 70 barrels of oil of the Bu Attifel quality, low in sulfur and very easy to refine.

“The field will remain open for a foreseeable period, the time to unload the remaining fuel. But it will be shut down in a few hours,” the source said.

 

Protesters are calling for the release of Faraj Boumtari, Minister of Economy at the time of the Government of National Accord (GNA) of former Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj, who disappeared two days ago at Mitiga international airport in Tripoli, controlled by the Rada militia (Special Deterrence Forces), one of more powerful armed groups of Tripolitania, the north-western +

 

The closure of El Feel could also lead to the stop, not confirmed for the moment, also of the nearby plant di Garbage, the largest oil field in Libya managed by the Akakus joint venture, which brings together the Libyan National Oil Corporation, the Spanish Repsol, the French Total, the Austrian Omv and the Norwegian Statoil and which alone boasts a production of about 300 barrels per day.

 

Already threatened in the past by militia leaders for non-payment of wages, Boumtari (a member of the Zawiya tribe who populate the eastern regions of Agedabia, Kufra, Brega and Gallo-Ujla) held various positions in the Tripoli government and was in the running for run for governor of the Central Bank of Libya to succeed Al Saddiq al Kabir, the longest-serving Libyan official currently in office.

 

Tribes in the Libyan Oil Crescent region have also staged a similar protest and threatened to halt crude oil exports from coastal terminals in the Gulf of Sirte in north-central Libya, starting tomorrow, July 14.

 

These developments take place in the context of recent controversy for the distribution of oil revenues and public funds in the North African country.

 

Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) based in Benghazi, Cyrenaica, has in fact threatened to block the oil wells if a new delivery mechanism is not established, more fair and transparent, of the sums paid by the Central Bank.

 

The Libyan source heard by “Nova” reports that the LNA forces, present in the Murzuk basin area, where the Sharara and El Feel fields are located, did not oppose the closure of the plant operated by Eni.