By Callum Paton and Muttaz Ali.
Tripoli, 25 April 2014:
The government has said that technical problems are delaying the opening of Zueitina . . .[restrict]Port, on the same day that federalists accused it of not sticking to the its side of the deal which was to see all the eastern oil export terminals opened within a month.
“Zueitina is in the process of being reopened but there are technical matters to deal with to do with the pumps and other machinery, which has been neglected in the time that the ports have been closed,” Prime Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Lameen told the Libya Herald yesterday.
“We are very pleased with the way things are proceeding and hopefully soon all the ports will be working for the benefit of the country,” he said.
The so-called ‘government of Cyrenaica’, however, has accused the government of not sticking to its side of the deal, brokered on 6 April.
“We have done our part but the government has not fulfilled its side of the deal,” said ‘Cyrenaica government’ spokesperson Ali Al-Hasi. The government was already exporting oil from Hariga oil port, at Tobruk, he said, but the federalist protesters were still waiting for what they had been promised.
“We respect the Libyan people but our patience will not last indefinitely and if this continues, we will take action,” Hasi said.
Federalist protesters, operating under Ibrahim Jadhran, have kept three of the country’s eastern oil export terminals – Zueitina, Ras Lanuf and Es-Sidra – closed since last summer and seriously restricted activities at a fourth – Hariga. Losses to the Libyan government have been estimated at $ 10 million. [/restrict]
