The anti-government protests in Libya over power cuts and high electricity bills over the past few days escalated on Tuesday, with protesters entering the Mellitah Oil and Gas complex and threatening to halt gas and fuel supplies for both the domestic and international markets.
Libya’s capital Tripoli has been the main stage of protests against the Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Protesters blocked streets and roads out of the capital earlier this week as a sign of protest against frequent and spreading power cuts and high electricity rates.
The demonstrations spread to the Mellitah Gas processing plant, where protesters are reportedly trying to stop natural gas exports to Italy via a pipeline, to solve Libya’s gas and power shortage problem.
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The protests are expanding to the Mellitah Oil and Gas complex intended to halt gas exports to Italy in order to pile up economic pressure on the Government of National Unity and force its resignation, sources among protesters told the Middle East Online on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning local time, it was unclear whether the protesters had succeeded in halting any gas or oil supply.
Yet, further escalation of protests and a potential halt to some oil and gas activities would be a big blow to Libya’s hydrocarbon revival, which had just started to take shape under relatively safer conditions after years of civil war.
Just earlier this month, Libya’s National Oil Corporation, NOC, and Austrian energy firm OMV declared the Essar oil discovery commercially viable as OPEC’s second-largest African producer pushes to revive its industry in partnerships with international oil majors.
Fresh halts to Libya’s oil and gas supply recovery would be a blow to the global oil and gas markets, too, as they are reeling from the shock loss of crude, fuels, and LNG supply from the Middle East.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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