A group of graduates of oil colleges from the western region closed the gas pipeline linking (Mellitah to Italy) on Saturday because the recent employment lists issued by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) did not include them.

A source from the oil sector confirmed to The Libya Observer that gas quantities exported to Italy via the Green Stream pipeline decreased by half after the protesters stormed the main control room in Mellitah complex, adding that negotiations with the protesters who were demanding jobs in the oil sector were continuing in order to settle the issue.

The Mellitah Oil and Gas Complex Workers Union announced Saturday that a number of protesters stormed the complex’s gate, while the source said the protest was not taken seriously, despite the efforts and continuous communication with the administration to find a solution to this issue.

The NOC announced the appointment of hundreds of graduates in the oil sector to work in its companies, which sparked a wave of anger in different regions of the country, especially the western one that saw the lowest number of appointed graduates, prompting dozens of young people to protest.

The protests renewed Saturday following the visit of a high-level Italian delegation to Tripoli, headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The visit saw the signing of an agreement worth 8 billion dollars between the NOC and the Italian company Eni aimed at increasing Libyan gas production to supply the local market in Libya as well as to ensure exports to Europe.