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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Militiamen from the town of Zintan in Libya opened fire on the Tripoli headquarters of the country’s oilfield guards. The attack left six people injured and most certainly raised more than a few more questions about security in the North Africa by companies operating there.
The incident occurred when the Zintani unit, responsible for guarding the Sharara Oil Fields in the south, surrounded the building and opened fire, leading to a battle between the two groups, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG), which gave no reason for what triggered the violence. Three PFG guards were wounded, it said.
“The PFG will not tolerate any such criminal acts and intends to take strict disciplinary actions against any who wish to disturb law, order, security and endanger the lives of civilians,” said the PFG.
This is just the latest incident in a series of security incidents that have taken place over the past six months or so. There have been numerous demonstrations and attacks on Libyan oil and gas facilities, with the Zueitina oil terminal being shut down at least four times since November. In March exports of natural gas to Europe were halted for a week through the Greenstream pipeline after clashes between rival militias at its Mellitah gas plant. These incidences are affecting oil production capacity and has on more than one occasion caused explorers to review their operations in the country.
Its not just Libya that is giving investors pause over the security, or lack thereof, both Egypt and Algeria have been the subject of some debate when it comes to investors, analysts, and shareholders. Companies like BP, Apache, Hess, and ConocoPhillip all have assets in these troubled North African countries and analyst say, at least in the case of one of these companies, this is why share prices remain below what the company is really worth.
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