By Ashraf Abdul Wahab.
Tripoli, 29 September 2013:
Stolen seismic acquisition trucks, apparently en route to a foreign buyer in Tunisia have been . . .[restrict]seized by security forces near Zawia.
The vehicles, each of which new can cost in excess of $500,000 were being carried on low loaders when they were intercepted. When questioned, the drivers apparently admitted they were were seeking to smuggle the equipment out of Libya. They allegedly said that an American firm was lined up to buy them.
It is understood that the seismic trucks, believed to number five, had been used between 2007 and 2011 but had thereafter been stored. It is not yet clear whether they are owned by the National Oil Company or by a foreign oil firm which has not yet resumed operations in Libya.
These highly sophisticated vehicles normally operate in groups of four with a fifth truck used as a back-up. [/restrict]
