Oil Companies Plan Evacuations From Libya

[seafan]

Source: NY Times

LONDON — Global oil companies said Monday that they were making plans to evacuate employees in Libya after some operations there were disrupted by political unrest. Libya holds the largest crude oil reserves in Africa, and the moves drove some stock prices down and a crucial oil benchmark to a three-year high.

The largest and most established foreign energy producer in Libya, Eni of Italy, said in a statement that it had begun repatriating “nonessential personnel” and the families of its employees.

The Norwegian energy company Statoil, which operates in Libya in partnership with Repsol of Spain and Total of France, said that it would close its office in Tripoli and that a handful of foreign workers were leaving. “The safety of our personnel is our main priority,” said a spokesman, Bard Glad Pedersen.

OMV of Austria, which produces about 34,000 barrels of oil a day in Libya, said it planned to evacuate 11 workers and their families, leaving only essential staff. ..... The British oil company BP, which has only exploration operations in Libya, said it was planning to evacuate some of its 40 foreign workers, mostly from Tripoli, where the unrest spread to Sunday. It also said it had suspended preparations for a drilling project because employees of a contractor had been evacuated.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/world/africa/22oil.html

---

Rapid rise in the price of gasoline will accelerate the state by state rebellion against the oligarchs in the US.

Here in America, we are suddenly losing our fear of them.

[KansDem]

1. "Here in America, we are suddenly losing our fear of them."

I think the Leona Helmsley flap started us thinking about the oligarchy here in the US. Then the Koch Bros reared their ugly heads and put another two faces to it.

But I think we are beginning to realize just how bogus the whole "trickle down" crap of Reagan really is. They've had 30 years of tax breaks and increased wealth and they certainly didn't invest in this country, like Reagan told us they would. We were lied to...pure and simple.

Fuck Reagan and the US oligarchs!!! :grr:

[Joanne98]

2. European Union, oil companies begin Libya evacuations

Source: AP

ROME (AP) — European countries sent planes and ferries to Libya on Monday to evacuate their citizens, and some international oil and gas companies pulled their foreign staff out and suspended operations, as anti-government protests spread to Tripoli for the first time.

Many countries had already urged their citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Libya or recommended that those already there leave on commercial flights. But as the bloody protests moved to Libya’s capital countries and companies alike stepped up their contingency plans.

Oil companies, including Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, U.K.-based BP and Germany’s Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF, were evacuating their expat workers or their families or both. BP and Wintershall said they were temporarily suspending operations; Eni said production continued normally.


Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/3936690-417/european-union-oil-companies-begin-libya-evacuations.html

[damntexdem]

3. I wonder when they'll begin the evacuations from Wisconsin.

;-)