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El Sharara






 In the opening days of this month/year, the El Sharara oil field in Libya ceased operations. It is said in all descriptions to have closed down due to "protests," of a generally unspecified nature. What may have happened sounds like union activism. 

I gather that union organizing is so verboten in Libya that no one wants to call it what it is. But the "protests" seem to consist of workers making demands, and refusing to do the work essential to such a plant unless such demands are met.  Which sounds to me like a labor union has come into existence.

It will be worthwhile keeping an eye on this, and NOT just because of the marginal impact that the Sharara close-down has on oil prices. Right now such factors as uncertainties about Red Sea shipping far overwhelm this one oil field in significance. 

The El Sharara news is worth watching to see if organized labor is becoming a considerable force in that country in general, or if these protests are just a one-off.  

My image for this post is a map. Sharara is toward the southwest corner of the country, near Algeria, and on a pipeline (colored green) that leads to Tripoli, a port city. 

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