Shots Fired As Protesters Fail To Stop Oil Tanker From Loading In Libya

By Charles Kennedy - May 19, 2022,

Protesters on Thursday fired shots outside Libya’s Hariga port in a failed attempt to stop the loading of 1 million barrels of crude oil bound for the UK, in an incident that comes just one day after Libyan prime minister-designate Fathi Bashagha entered Tripoli in a failed attempt to assume control of the government from his rival.

According to Hariga port authorities in Tobruk, cited by Libya Update, protesters fired shots after being prevented from entering the port after the docking of a tanker scheduled to be loaded with 1 million barrels of oil. 

The tanker was not hit in the crossfire. No injuries were reported, and the tanker–the British Ridgebury–successfully departed the port on Thursday. 

Libya has been suffering from a loss of some 600,000 bpd of production and exports after protests led the National Oil Company (NOC) to declare force majeure on the Al-Sharara oilfield, the country’s largest, along with the El Feel oilfield and two key export terminals. 

Hariga port has continued to operate normally. 

Tensions rose on Wednesday when Bashagha entered Tripoli with his militia forces providing security, prompting an armed response from militias loyal to current interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who has refused to step down and hand over power to his parliament-backed rival. 

Bashagha retreated from Tripoli only hours after entering and said later on Wednesday that his new government would set up in Sirte, halfway between the powers in the east and the west. Sirte is also the gateway to the ‘Oil Crescent', and this move potentially represents a reminder by Bashagha that his militias control this region. 

The rivalry is between two legislative branches of government in Libya, the Tobruk-based parliament in the east, which has appointed Bashagha the new prime minister, and the high council of state in the west, which supports Dbeibah. The east controls much of Libya’s ‘Oil Crescent’ and the west controls the Central Bank in Tripoli. 

Libyan Oil Deadlocked As Clashes Force PM-Designate Out of Tripoli

By Charles Kennedy - May 17, 2022

Libyan prime minister-designate Fathi Bashagha was forced out of the capital Tripoli on Tuesday by armed militias backed by current interim Prime Minister Adbdul Hamid Dbeibah, who refuses to step down and cede power as a significant amount of the country’s oil production capacity remains shut-in.

Armed clashes shook Tripoli on Tuesday as Bashagha, backed by the eastern-based parliament, entered the capital to assume power from Dbeibah, forcing the prime minister-designate to leave the city only hours after entering.

Clashes erupted when Bashagha entered the city with militia forces, prompting a response from Dbeibah’s militias.

One staff member of the Italian embassy was wounded during the clashes.

The rival prime ministers blame each other for starting the clashes, with Bashagha calling the Dbeibah government “hysterical”.

“Despite our peaceful entry to Tripoli, without use of violence and force of arms, and our reception by honorable people of Tripoli, we were surprised by dangerous military escalation carried out by armed groups affiliated with the outgoing government,” Bashagha tweeted.

“We are not seeking authority, but rather determined to build democratic civil state with elected authority, state governed by law, not governed by logic of violence and chaos sponsored by the outgoing government,” the new Prime Minister added.

The United Nations and the United States have urged calm.

“We urge all armed groups to refrain from violence and for political leaders to recognize that seizing or retaining power through violence will only hurt the people of Libya,” the U.S. Embassy in Libya said in a statement.

Some 600,000 bpd of Libyan oil production remains shut-in due to rivalry between Bashagha and Dbeibah over the distribution of oil revenues. The Libyan National OIl Company (NOC) was forced in mid-April to declare force majeure on two oilfields, including its largest–Al Sharara–as well as on key export terminals. Libyan production is now hovering around 800,00 bpd.

Bashagha holds the key to resuming oil production. However, with no agreements forthcoming over oil revenues, without taking Tripoli and controlling the central bank, the prime minister-designate cannot force a new revenue distribution setup.