3 weeks ago
Libya's NOC Warns Zawiya Refinery Could Halt After Drone Attacks
In Libya, there is a big factory called a refinery that turns oil into fuel for cars and trucks.
People used small flying machines called drones to attack this factory.
The attack caused a huge fire, and a giant tank full of car fuel fell down.
Nobody was hurt in the attack.
The people who run the country's oil said they might have to stop the factory from working if the attacks keep happening.
Some gas stations in the western part of Libya did not get as much fuel for a little while.
But the country still had enough fuel because there was extra stored in Tripoli and ships were bringing more.
Nobody knows who sent the drones.
Libya has been having problems with different groups fighting for many years, and these attacks make it harder for the country to produce and sell oil.
Drone attacks over the weekend into Monday hit Zawiya's oil complex, causing a tank holding about 4.5 million litres of gasoline to collapse after a fire.
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it could declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery if the attacks continue.
The Zawiya oil depot partially shut down, temporarily disrupting fuel supply to some stations in the western region, though overall supply remained stable.
No casualties were reported, and no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also targeted a desalination plant and the Zawiya power plant.
The violence threatens Libya's plans to boost output to 2 million bpd after June production reached 1.44 million bpd, the highest since 2013.
- Who
- Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and fuel companies such as Brega Petroleum Marketing; attacks carried out by unidentified drone operators.
- What
- Drone attacks on the Zawiya oil complex caused a gasoline tank collapse, a fire, and a partial shutdown, prompting NOC to warn it may halt refinery operations or declare force majeure.
- Where
- Zawiya, a strategic city located west of Tripoli, Libya.
- When
- Over the weekend into Monday, August 11, with additional drone strikes on the Zawiya power plant early Tuesday morning.
- Why
- Renewed clashes between rival armed groups in Zawiya; Libya has been divided between rival factions since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi 15 years ago.
Key facts
- Refinery capacity
- 120,000 barrels per day
- Gasoline tank destroyed
- About 4.5 million litres
- Casualties
- None reported
- Force majeure threat
- Possible if drone attacks continue
- June oil production
- 1.44 million bpd, highest since 2013
- Pre-2011 production
- 1.6 million bpd
- Output target
- 2 million bpd
- Location
- Zawiya, west of Tripoli, Libya



