Libya protesters block major ports, stop oil exports 

Protesters blocked oil exports at the Libyan ports of As Sidr and Harouge today, an oil engineer at each port said, although other engineers said production at fields that supply the terminals was unaffected.

The engineers said three tankers were waiting to load at As Sidr and one was waiting to load at Harouge. As Sidr is Libya’s largest oil depot, shipping about 447,000 barrels per day.

Demonstrators have been calling for the dismissal of the head of the National Oil Corporation, (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla, as the conflict over who runs the country’s oil sector continues to grow between Sanalla and Libya’s Oil and Gas Minister Mohamed Aoun.

Sanalla has headed the NOC for 7 years including carrying out exploration and production projects, and representing the country in ministerial meetings of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which are tasks usually related to the Ministry of Oil and Gas.

However, since the national unity government assigned Aoun to the oil ministry in March, relations with Sanalla have soured, and the two oil magnates have clashed over key policies in the sector, as Aoun wanted the corporation to focus on production rather than control of the country’s oil and gas licenses.

The minister later dismissed Sanalla and assigned Jadallah Al-Awkali in his place. As tensions rose, the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, intervened on Sunday and decided not to dismiss Sanalla, calling for preserving the stability of the sector during the coming period.

READ: Libya oil ministry dismisses NOC chief