Gabon’s oil output halted as strike sets in

Libreville—Almost the entire oil production of Gabon, sub-Sahara’s fourth largest producer, was halted Saturday on the second day of a strike against the employment of foreigners in the national petroleum firm. Petrol pumps ran dry in the capital city Libreville while no oil supplies emerged from the African nation’s sole refinery Sogara at Port-Gentil, its oil capital, due to the strike called by the The National Organisation of Petroleum Employees (ONEP).

ONEP, which has between 4,000 and 5,000 members, called the strike from Thursday at midnight to obtain new rules on the employment of foreigners, whom the union considers to be taking jobs from Gabonese nationals.

“Gamba and Port-Lopez are shut down. These are the only two exit points for oil leaving the country. All the oil firms go through one of these two terminals,” said ONEP spokesman Arnauld Engandji. Anglo Dutch energy giant Shell would also be completely stopping production on Saturday, a spokesman told AFP, saying: “We started operations to halt production on Friday with a view to a complete stoppage on Saturday. “These are complicated procedures especially if one wants to avoid problems when production is resumed,” he said.

On Friday, a source at French oil firm Total said almost the entire production of the firm had been halted. Total and Shell are the main oil players in Gabon, which produces between 220,000 and 240,000 barrels per day. Officially, oil revenue accounts for “about 60 percent” of the nation’s budget. “There is nothing, no petrol, no diesel,” said Terence a petrol pump attendant in Libreville’s Renovation quarter. He added that the union wanted, “given equal competence... a preference for the employment of a Gabonese.”—Agencies