By Jamal Adel.
Beida, 5 April 2015:
The long-distrupted Abu Attifel oil field near Jalu may be resuming production, following agreement with job-seeking . . .[restrict]locals who had been partly responsible for the field’s shut-down.
Production at the 70,000 b/d field operated and part-owned by Italy’s ENI, stopped in August 2013 following the occupation and closure of oil export terminals by secessionist protestors.
Abu Attifel’s output was piped to Zuetina, one of the affected the terminals.
Though the blockade of the export terminals ended last summer, Abu Attifel was not brought back on stream, apparently because of rising security concerns. The buildings and equipment were maintained by a skeleton staff.
Despite this, last November some 1,000 demonstrators from neigbouring Jalu besieged the facility demanding jobs. An excavator was used to construct a sand bund in front of the main gates.
At the time, leading activist, Saleh Mohammed Ali told the Libya Herald that the job-seekers wanted to talk directly to the National Oil Company. For its part, the NOC said employing more staff was impossible.
It is not yet clear what deal, if any, has been reached between the locals and the NOC which will allow Abu Attifel to restart production. [/restrict]
