Drone strike targets oil facility in Libya’s Zawiya amid refinery shutdown warning

A drone targeted an oil facility in Libya’s western city of Zawiya, marking the third such incident since Sunday, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said early Tuesday.

In a statement, the NOC said the remotely operated drone fell near the main oil tank and pipeline network at a blending and packaging plant operated by the Zawiya Oil Refining Company.

No casualties or material damage were reported.

The NOC warned that repeated attacks were posing a growing threat to oil facilities in the area and called for urgent intervention by the relevant authorities.

It also placed firefighting and safety teams on heightened alert for any further incidents.

The NOC warned that if the attacks continue, it could declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya refinery.

The latest incident followed an attack on a gasoline storage tank at the Zawiya oil depot Monday that sparked a major fire and prompted the NOC to declare a state of “maximum emergency.”

The tank, which contained an estimated 4.5 million liters of gasoline, later collapsed as emergency crews worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to nearby facilities.

Libya remains divided between two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and based in Tripoli which administers western Libya and a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022 currently headed by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which administers the east and most of the south.

For years, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has sought to broker a political settlement leading to elections, which many Libyans hope will end the political divisions and armed conflict that have persisted since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.