By Aimen Eljali and Seraj Essul.
Tripoli, 29 August 2013:
Panic buying by Tripoli residents convinced that the Zawia refinery had stopped as . . .[restrict]part of the oil production crisis across the country has resulted in massive queues outside petrol stations across the capital. At one station in Zawiat Al-Dahmani, the line stretched round the block and was over half a kilometres long.
Drivers were generally patient and calm although at stations in Gurji and near Suq Al-Thalath, the heat and frustration were seen to take their toll when tempers flared and fights broke out among those who had been waiting for hours to fill their vehicles. At Gurji even the police became embroiled.
However, the refinery is not closed. Supplies have been moving out to petrol stations, Mohammed Othman, media spokesman for the refinery, told the Libya Herald today. .
“There is no reason to panic,” he said. “The refinery is working normally. It is producing 100 percent.” The Brega Marketing company was distributing normally to the petrol stations. Nor were there any plans to cease production in future; reports on social media sites that it would do so in four day’s time untrue. “There are no plans to stop. It’s just rumours,” he said. [/restrict]
