Renewed violence in the strategic Libyan city of Zawiya has once again disrupted the oil industry in the Opec member country, with state oil firm NOC saying it could declare force majeure if drone attacks on energy assets in the city continued.
Located west of Tripoli, Zawiya, which hosts Libya's largest operating refinery, has seen repeated clashes between armed groups.
Most recently, drone attacks over the weekend into Monday targeted its oil complex, causing a tank containing about 4.5mn litres of gasoline to collapse after a fire.
Although intense, the blaze, which firefighters are still battling to put out, has not caused any damage to the refinery at the complex, the engineers told Reuters.
However, it led to a partial shutdown of operations at the Zawiya oil depot and a temporary disruption to fuel supply to several stations in the western region, said a spokesperson of Brega Petroleum Marketing, which is in charge of Libya's fuel supplies.
The overall supply situation within the country remained stable, the spokesperson added, due to available volumes of gasoline at the Tripoli oil depot and tankers loading additional shipments.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks and authorities did not say who they believed was behind them, but Libya has been divided between rival factions since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi 15 years ago.
Libya's National Oil Corp said it could completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery after the attack.
The drone targeted on Monday 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. No casualties were reported, according to NOC.
The Zawiya refinery has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and is connected to the country's 300,000-bpd Sharara oilfield.
The oil ministry said earlier the series of drone attacks had targeted the refinery as well as a desalination plant in the Zawiya complex.
Two officials from Libya's electricity company also said two drones had targeted the Zawiya power plant early on Tuesday morning, with one hitting the fire-fighting system and another falling near a fuel tank but causing no damage.
The latest flare-up in violence could derail Libya's plans to overhaul its oil sector to boost output. The country holds Africa's largest proven oil reserves, yet has struggled to restore its pre-2011 production levels of 1.6mn bpd.
In June, it managed to reach 1.44mn bpd, the highest level since 2013.
The country, whose economy relies heavily on oil, has been actively courting international investors in its effort to increase its output to 2mn bpd.
It signed major deals with TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips in January, then in February awarded oil and gas blocks to companies including Chevron and Eni — its first licensing round since 2007.
The split between two administrations in the east and the west has stunted the country's progress, as foreign investors remained wary. The sides often clash over control of the oil revenues that pour into the Central Bank of Libya, leading to oilfield shutdowns.
In 2024, a standoff over control of the bank slashed the country's oil exports by more than half. It was resolved after months with the appointment of current governor Naji Issa.
Documents seen by Reuters on Monday showed Issa had submitted his resignation to the country's rival legislative chambers. He said he could not continue in his post.
