BATTLE FOR LIBYA OIL PORTS RAGES
State oil company removes staff from Es Sider as terminal comes under attack along with facilities at Ras Lanuf port
Militias make moves towards the key facility of Es Sider,
Libyan militias launched a fierce offensive to capture the country’s key oil ports yesterday, while eastern government forces who control the ports hit back with air strikes.
Fighting was centred around the coastal town of Ben Jawad, 30 kilometres west of Es Sider, the country’s largest oil port, with social media showing images of palls of smoke rising from bombing sorties. Reports from Libyan media said the eastern government, controlled by the House of Representatives parliament in Tobruk, had bombed the attackers, using MiG 21 jets and attack helicopters to hit advancing columns of militia vehicles. Troops were deployed to protect the perimeters of the ports.
Libya’s state oil company, the National Oil Corporation, which is politically neutral, said it had removed non- essential staff from Es Sider, but not from the nearby port of Ras Lanuf, and was continuing to load tankers at the two sites.
The fighting is a blow to diplomatic hopes that, with the crushing of ISIL in its main base at Sirte this week, Libya’s fractious militias could unite.
The destruction of ISIL in Sirte, after a six-month battle, appears to have been the signal for some militias in western Libya to resume large-scale operations in the country’s civil war.
Libya media reports said the oil ports attack was being led by units connected to the Benghazi Defence Brigades, a militia grouping which in the summer led failed efforts to capture Benghazi from eastern government forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Both Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, Libya’s largest oil refinery, were captured in September by his forces from a militia loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which is backed by the United Nations and is a rival to the eastern government. The ports are key outlets for Libya’s so-called Oil Crescent, a vast area of oilfields that account for two thirds of the country’s total oil production.
Since the field marshal and his fighters captured the ports, oil production has risen from 220,000 barrels a day to about 600,000 barrels a day. This increase has raised hopes that Libya could earn foreign currency. The GNA was quick to denounce the attack. “The GNA announces that it has absolutely no connection to the attack that happened on Wednesday,” it said.
The attack came the day after Martin Kobler, chief of the United Nations support mission for Libya, told the UN security council in New York that rising oil production gave Libyans hope of avoiding financial meltdown.
“Oil production has increased significantly, tripling from August, to almost 600,000 barrels per day,” said Mr Kobler. “Libya’s financial reserves have shrunk from 109 billion dollars (Dh400.4bn) in 2013 to near 45 billion dollars. The country will face an economic meltdown unless something changes.”
Both Es Sider and Ras Lanuf were heavily damaged in fighting in December 2014 and again, in an attack by ISIL, in February this year. There are fears that further damage might effectively destroy the ports, nullifying their value no matter which group ends up controlling them.
Eastern government bombed the attackers, using MiG 21 jets and attack helicopters