Drone Attack Sparks Blaze at Libya’s Zawiya Refinery, National Oil Corporation Warns Force Majeure
Developing · updated 55m ago · 12 outlets
Drone strikes hit Zawiya refinery, triggering a massive blaze and damage to a fuel tank NOC warns it could declare force majeure if drone attacks persist
Beat 1 · The verdict
The Jerusalem Post says diesel; Reuters says gasoline, causing a target mismatch
Full story
Drone fire at Zawiya
A drone attack sparked a massive blaze at Libya’s Zawiya refinery, with firefighters battling the fire as the National Oil Corporation warned it may declare a force majeure and shut down operations if attacks continue.
“directly targeted, resulting in a severe fire before the tank completely collapsed”
The fire broke out on Monday evening at tank number 402-T, belonging to the Brega Oil Company, and the NOC said the tank contained about 4.5 million litres of gasoline and was “directly targeted, resulting in a severe fire before the tank completely collapsed”.
Al Jazeera said footage showed “huge flames and thick black smoke billowing over the facility,” describing the Zawiya refinery as Libya’s largest operating refinery with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.
The refinery is located about 40km (25 miles) west of Tripoli, and the NOC said the attack followed drone strikes on a water desalination plant at the refinery on Sunday and on a naphtha reservoir on Saturday.
No casualties, more strikes
Libya’s Ambulance and Emergency Service said in a statement on Tuesday there were no “serious injuries” from the fire, with most patients treated for smoke inhalation.
Reuters reported that Libyan firefighters continued to battle the blaze on Tuesday, citing two engineers at the site, and said the fire “has not caused any damage to Libya's largest operating refinery”.
The NOC said the third drone targeted on Monday an oil blending and filling plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, and Reuters reported that no casualties or material damage were reported.
The NOC also said it was considering suspending operations if the attacks continued, while the BBC reported the Zawiya refinery was hit in a drone strike on Monday evening as the third such incident in two days.
Force majeure threat
The National Oil Corporation warned that if drone attacks on oil assets in Zawiya continued, it would declare a state of force majeure and suspend operations at the refinery, framing the threat as a response to repeated sabotage attacks.
“could force it to halt the city’s refinery operations entirely and declare force majeure”
The Media Line reported the NOC warned that continued drone attacks could force it to halt the city’s refinery operations entirely and declare force majeure, after three attacks were recorded Sunday and Monday.
The BBC said the NOC was considering suspending operations if the attacks continued, while Al Jazeera reported the NOC urged authorities to launch an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
In parallel, the Tripoli-based government said Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah held a meeting earlier in the day with key officials including the interior minister and chiefs of some armed groups in the capital “to follow up on the latest security developments” and stressed the need to deal firmly with actions that threaten security or harm vital facilities.
Story read · 12 outlets · 1 disagreement · 1 fact unevenly covered
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The divide
The Jerusalem Post says diesel; Reuters says gasoline, causing a target mismatch
Coverage map
West Asian (3)
Western Alternative (2)
Latin American (2)
Local Western (1)
Other (1)
Israeli (1)
How each outlet frames it
Every outlet we compared, the headline it ran, and a link to the original article.
West Asian
Libya’s National Oil Corporation warns of force majeure at Zawiya complex after drone attacks
11 August, 2026
Drone strike targets oil facility in Libya’s Zawiya amid refinery fire
11 August, 2026
Western Alternative
Libya's NOC warns of force majeure, Zawiya refinery shutdown if drone attacks continue
11 August, 2026
Libya Threatens To Shut Zawiya Refinery After Series of Drone Attacks
11 August, 2026
Western Mainstream
Latin American
A drone attack triggers a devastating fire at the Zawiya refinery in Libya
11 August, 2026
Continued in Libya are the firefighting efforts to extinguish the fire at the refinery attacked by a drone.
11 August, 2026
Local Western
Drone strike sparks massive blaze at Libya’s Zawiya refinery
11 August, 2026
Other
A THIRD DRONE HITS A CRUDE MIXING PLANT According to the NOC, the third drone struck on Monday a blending and filling plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company. The projectile fell near the main crude tank and a network of pipelines intended for production for the domestic market. No casualties or significant material damage were reported. The Ministry of Petroleum reported early Tuesday that an attack on the Zawiya complex caused the fire and subsequent collapse of a Brega tank containing about 4.5 million liters of gasoline. The ministry also detailed that the drone attacks targeted both a desalination plant inside the Zawiya complex and the refinery itself. A Brega official told Reuters that tanks adjacent to the affected area in Zawiya were emptied to prevent the spread of the fire while cooling operations were carried out at the rest of the depots. LIBYA HOLDS THE LARGEST OIL RESERVES IN AFRICA As a consequence of years of instability, crude oil production in Libya has suffered recurrent outages, despite the country holding Africa’s largest proven oil reserves. The Zawiya area itself has been the scene of repeated armed clashes that at times forced the closure of its refinery, most recently for several days last May. The refinery is located about 40 kilometers west of Tripoli and has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. It is connected to the Sharara field, which produces 300,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, Ras Lanuf refinery, Libya’s largest, has been idle since 2013. Libya, whose economy is tightly tied to oil, has maintained production below pre-2011 levels, when it reached 1.6 million barrels per day. However, in June it managed to reach 1.44 million barrels per day, its highest level since 2013.
11 August, 2026
Israeli
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