BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Renegade union workers refused to end their blockade of one of Argentina’s largest oil and gas operations Tuesday, adding to the millions of dollars in lost profits and vandalism already suffered by British and Chinese energy companies.

A judge on Tuesday ordered police to evict the protesters blocking the Cerro Dragon energy complex, an important supplier of oil and natural gas that has been mostly forced off line for 12 days, leaving thousands of people out of work and creating a potential energy supply crisis in southern Argentina.