The Ministry of Oil and Gas denied on Friday that the US Halliburton Corporation for oil field services is withdrawing and abandoning its activities in central and west of Libya.
Several reports have been circulating online indicating that the tense security situation in the country compelled the world’s second-largest oil field service company to leave.
Halliburton did not confirm or refute such news, but Libya’s oil ministry issued a statement assuring that “what was published in this regard is baseless and a distortion of reality.”
“Halliburton is continuing its normal work with the Libyan oil sector… it is a leading and experienced company that manages its operations professionally,” the statement said.
However, news about Halliburton demanding its employees- mainly foreigners- to quickly leave Libya has been making rounds on Libyan social media.
One of the pages quoted an unnamed company source as saying that the company decided to reduce its activities and its Libyan-based staff as it did in 2015, demanding its staff to vacate their positions and leave all their equipment immediately.
According to the source, the company is planning to evacuate three locations and reduce its staff to the minimum in the company’s office in Tripoli.
