Protesters extend the deadline for closing two oil facilities in Libya by 24 hours

A spokesman for protesters who threatened to close two oil and gas facilities near the Libyan capital, Tripoli, announced on Friday that they had decided to extend the deadline by 24 hours for talks with mediators.

Protesters threatened to close the two facilities, and one of the groups waging an anti-corruption campaign launched a 72-hour deadline that ended on Friday.

The two facilities are the Mellitah complex and the Zawiya refinery.

The Mellitah complex is a joint project between the Libyan National Oil Corporation and the Italian company Eni. Any stoppage would disrupt gas supplies through the Green Stream pipeline between Libya and Italy.

Salem Mohammed, spokesman for the protesters from the “Eradication of Corruption Movement,” said that they decided to extend the deadline to continue negotiations with the team of mediators, which consists of six people.

Salem added, “There was agreement during the negotiations on our demands, with the exception of the dismissal of the head of the National Oil Corporation, Farhat Bin Gudara.”

He continued, “If they do not return to us with an agreement on all our demands, especially the dismissal of Ben Gudara and the cancellation of all his decisions, we will close the Mellitah complex and the Zawiya refinery after Saturday afternoon.”

It was not clear whether the protesters had the ability to close the two facilities.

The Libyan oil sector, the country’s main source of income, has been the target of local political protests and wider protests since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

The Zawiya refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, is linked to the Sharara oil field, which produces 300,000 barrels per day.

Protesters from the Fezzan region in the south of the country closed the Sharara field last week to press for improved services.

The National Oil Corporation said that this forced it to declare a state of force majeure in production and suspend crude supplies to the Zawiya station.