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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.