Libya oil tanks seen as 'time bomb'

Desperate Gaddafi might hit oil facilities in an attempt to fend off encroaching rebels, sparking a human catastrophe.
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2011 02:19 GMT



The oil producing town of Ras Lanuf in Libya has seen some of the worst fighting in the last few days.

Home to a huge facility at the very heart of Libya’s massive oil and gas industry, the plant could become a new target.

For now, opposition forces control this and virtually every other natural energy facility in the country.

But as this conflict wears on, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will need oil. He will have to try and take it by force or, as many fear, he could bomb oil and gas complexes to prevent anyone else from using them

“ We expect that he will destroy everything because he is crazy," Fahad Kheri, superintendent in Libya's oil and gas Industry, told Al Jazeera.

The installation is only a few hundred kilometres away from Gadaffi’s hometown and stronghold of Sirte.

Al Jazeera has found that the frontlines are fluid and that the rebel fighters lack organisation. As a result, the natural gas plant here is a potential time bomb waiting to go off.

The oil workers there spoke to our correspondent Tony Birtley.

Source: Al Jazeera