By Jamal Adel.
Kufra, 17 October 2014:
Protesters from Jalu who broke into the long-dormant Abu Tifl oilfield on 2 October and prevented . . .[restrict]it reopening in hopes of obtaining employment are demanding face-to-face negotiation with National Oil Corporation (NOC) officials. The NOC, however, has refused.
“The NOC has not played a role in negotiations following any of the other blockades of oilfields or oil ports in any part of the country,” NOC spokesperson Mohammed Al-Hariri told the Libya Herald.
When the House of Representatives (HoR) sent delegate Mousa Kareem on 11 October for negotiations, protesters refused to meet him, saying that he was not authorised to offer them the jobs that they sought through the protest.
On Thursday, the protesters announced that the blockade would continue until they were allowed to negotiate directly with the NOC.
“They must sort out this problem with the government, not the NOC. We are a commercial and executive administration only. We should have no part in any negotiations,” Hariri explained.
What further complicates the problem, he said, was that the protesters did not have a clear understanding of the varying roles of the government and of the NOC.
“We are only following government instructions. We do not intervene in anything that is not part of the NOC’s role,” said Hariri.
Abu Tifl oilfield, located some 50 kilometres south of Jalu, feeds into Zuetina oil port through Field 103 and has not been operational since its closure by Cyrenaica federalist Ibrahim Jahdran in August 2013, although its administrative office and small airport have remained open. Abu Tifl oilfield is operated by Italian oil company Eni. [/restrict]
