Libyan Port's Oil Exports Halted by Protesters

Protesters demanding jobs closed off the eastern Libyan port of Zueitina for a sixth day, extending a halt in oil exports, according to a senior oil industry source and to one of the demonstrators, as cited by Reuters.

Roughly a dozen men last Tuesday evening forced their way into the port, just hours after Zueitina Oil Company workers had temporarily suspended a strike and resumed production at oilfields that pump to the terminal.

Zueitina Oil Company pumps between 60,000 and 70,000 barrels but its terminal has the capacity to handle about 20 per cent of Libya’s crude oil exports.

Protests and strikes at various facilities have repeatedly lowered Libya’s oil output, which had returned faster than expected to pre-war levels of around 1.6 million barrels per day, adds Reuters.

Source: Reuters