Guards at Libya’s eastern Hariga oil port end sit-in that dealyed loading

Petroleum facility guards at Libya’s eastern Hariga oil terminal have ended a sit-in over salary demands that delayed the loading of a one million-barrel
cargo, the port’s manager said on Wednesday.

A tanker that had been waiting to load will be able to enter the port early on Thursday, port manager Rajab Sahnoun told Reuters.

A shipping source confirmed that the tanker, trader Unipec’s Olympic Fighter, was expecting to load the one million barrel cargo.

One of the guards said a two-week period for the resolution of the dispute over unpaid salaries had been agreed.

There was no immediate comment from the National Oil Corporation, which manages production and exports across Libya.

Libya’s oil production staged a rapid recovery late last year after an eight-month blockade of ports and fields by eastern-based forces ended.

However, the lifting of the blockade was linked to complex negotiations to resolve Libya’s political and military divisions that have made slow progress in recent weeks.

Petroleum facilities guards are tasked with protecting ports and fields but have often disrupted production in recent years as they push financial demands or political grievances.