Tripoli, 4 March 2013:
The . . .[restrict]army was today scheduled to take over security control at the Mellitah oil and gas complex, scene of two days of deadly fighting between militias from Zintan and Zuara, which halted key oil and gas production and exports.
The confrontation, in which one man was killed and two wounded, came as the rival militias fought for control of the oil installation, 60 kilometres west of Tripoli. Army units, reportedly backed by other militias, intervened to stop the firefight. According to a spokesman for Major-General Yousef Mangoush the Libyan army chief of general staff, both sides agreed to let troops move in.
The spokesman, Ali Shiekhe said that the army would continue to secure the complex until units from the Ministry of Defence’s Petroleum Facility Guard could take over.
The plant had sustained “minor” damage in the fighting, which broke out on Saturday afternoon. Production was halted as the battle raged and staff were evacuated. The export of gas through the 540 kilometre Greenstream pipeline from Mellitah to Sicily, has reportedly since been resumed. According to Abdulfattah Shagan, chairman of the Greenstream joint venture between NOC and Italy’s Eni, speaking to Reuters, the complex had to stop gas production entirely for a period, while the 210,000 b/d oil output from the Elephant and Wafa field was cut by 25 percent. “Once we establish full security, then we will start bringing back our staff and preparing to start up. It will take three or four days altogether.”
At a press conference yesterday attended by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, Electricity Minister Dr Ali Mohammed Muhairiq warned that if the problems at the complex were not sorted out within six days, there would be power outages. His words were echoed by Omar al-Chukmak, the Undersecretary of the Oil and Gas Ministry who said that the armed clashes had seriously affected energy exports to Europe. [/restrict]
