Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) threatened on Sunday to close all oil and gas facilities in the country’s western region after the end of a 10-day deadline to authorities to meet their demands, including a 67% salary rise.
Members of PFG, a military group tasked with protecting oil facilities, made the threat in videos posted online on Sunday.
Video footage on social media platforms X and Facebook showed a group of PFG members in military uniforms closing a feeder valve to the Mellitah oil complex in western Tripoli.
Mellitah is a joint venture between Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI). If the complex is closed, that would disrupt the supply of gas through the Greenstream pipeline between Libya and Italy.
NOC said on X that it discussed with the PFG head their demands and “understood” them, but added there “is a necessity of keeping oil installations away from any tensions.”Libya's Zawiya Refinery Ceases Operations Amid Armed Intervention
— Balfour Capital Group (@BalfourCap) February 23, 2024
The Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), an armed group in Libya, has halted operations at the Al-Zawiya refinery and two key oil complexes, Mellitah and Misrata, over demands for unpaid wages and benefits#Lybia
NOC did not disclose if there was any disruption of operations.استقبل رئيس مجلس إدارة المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط المكلف مسعود سليمان، اليوم الأحد، بمقر المؤسسة، رئيس جهاز حرس المنشآت النفطية العميد عبد الرزاق الخرماني. pic.twitter.com/IhD0qU1CBg
— National Oil Corporation المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط (@NOC_Libya) February 25, 2024
Karim al-Ghamoudi, a member of the PFG, told Libya’s Alahrar TV channel that they closed the gate to the Zawiya refinery, also in western Tripoli. He said the supply was going normally but “slowly because of crowds at the gate.”
“There are only fake promises, and we want them [authorities] to listen to our demands,” Ghamoudi added.
Zawiya oil refinery has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), and is connected to the country’s 3000,000 bpd Sharara oilfield.#BreakingNews: Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) members have announced the closure of all #oil facilities, fields, and terminals in #Libya, demanding change of PFG affiliation to National Oil Company and more financial incentives. pic.twitter.com/eENqQt1zC7
— Libya AlAhrar (@LibyaAhrarEN) February 25, 2024
In January, Sharara was closed by protesters from the Fezzan region in the south, prompting the NOC to declare force majeure on the field which was reopened some days later.
“We regret and we are unwilling to close oil facilities,” members of the PFG said in a different video statement.
The group called on the government of national unity (GNU) led by Abdulhamid Dbeibah to adopt a 67% salary raise similar to that awarded to NOC staff.
It also asked the GNU to include them “administratively and financially under the National Oil Corporation, and technically under the defense ministry.”
