Drone Attacks Ignite Fire At Libya’s Zawiya Refinery, NOC Warns Of Shutdown

Drone attacks ignited gasoline at Libya’s Zawiya oil refinery, the country’s largest operational facility, with Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) reporting a third such attack over Sunday and Monday.

“could declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery”

Reuters

Reuters said the latest drone targeted an oil blending and filling plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, falling near its main oil tank and a pipeline network used to produce oils for the domestic market.

Al Jazeera

On Monday, a fire accompanied by heavy smoke broke out in a fuel tank at an oil depot at the Zawiya refinery after it was struck, and Libya’s oil ministry said the tank belonged to Brega and contained about 4.5 million litres of gasoline before catching fire and collapsing.

The Reuters report placed Zawiya around 40 km (25 miles) west of Tripoli and said the refinery has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and is connected to the country’s 300,000-bpd Sharara oilfield.

Reuters reported that Libya’s NOC said on Tuesday it could declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery if drone attacks on oil assets in the city continued.

The Jerusalem Post said the NOC announced it would be forced to completely halt operations at the refinery should attacks continue after a fire broke out on Monday in a diesel tank oil depot at the refinery after the tank was struck.

Anadolu Ajansı

The Reuters account said no casualties or material damage were reported in the latest attack, and it also said there was no immediate claim of responsibility and authorities did not say who they believed was behind the attacks.

Both Reuters and The Jerusalem Post described the refinery as still functioning without suspension, with Reuters citing two engineers working at the refinery who said operations had continued without suspension.

The National | Western Alternative tied the Zawiya attacks to Libya’s renewed security instability, describing a separate series of drone attacks targeting critical oil infrastructure in western Libya.

“underscoring the country's renewed security instability”

The National

It said the head of military intelligence for Lt Gen Khalifa Haftar’s forces in eastern Libya, Brig Fawzi Al Mansouri, was killed when an explosive device detonated in his car outside his home in Benghazi in the Hawari area on Monday evening.

The National also said Libya’s rival governments split between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity based in Tripoli under Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022 headed by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi.

Against that backdrop, it reported that the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has sought to broker a political settlement leading to elections, and it described the Boulos Initiative as a US-driven push led by Massad Boulos that offers American oil investment in return for unity.