(Ecofin Agency) - Libya is currently witnessing a delay in the shipment of its crude, as a subsidiary of the Petroleum Facilities Guard protesting in the country have shut down the Al-Hariga oil terminal in the east over non-payment of salaries.

The protest which began on Wednesday has resulted in the delay of two oil tankers at the port which has an export capacity of about 120,000 barrels per day. One of the tankers was docked at the port while the second tanker was scheduled to dock on Sunday.

Industrial clashes, insecurity and political conflicts have been affecting Libya's oil output ever since the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi five years ago.

Production has fallen to less than the 1.6 million bpd recorded before the uprising in 2011.

More than a few major terminals in the east remains block by the Petroleum Facilities Guard, as key units have divided their loyalties between different political factions.

According to Mohamed Al-Harari, a spokesperson for the new unified National Oil Company in Tripoli, the group which closed the Hariga port is usually based south of the eastern city of Derna but moved to the terminal on Wednesday to carry out the protest.

“The problem is that they put their hands on the terminal and they are stopping the loading. The authorities there are trying to resolve this. We are doing some effort to solve this problem, some elders from Tobruk and some officials from Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi Oil Company are trying to reopen the oil port so that they avoid the country a possible economic melt-down,” he told Reuters.

Al-Harari added that Libya’s oil export is close to 220 bpd and shutting down the Al-Hariga oil port could reduce the output and affect the Tobruk refinery station as the pumping of crude oil will be stopped.

Anita Fatunji