Several tanks at the Zawiya refinery, a town located 45 km west of Tripoli and the only one in western Libya which supplies the local market with fuel, caught fire, according to videos posted on social networks. The NOC indicated that it had succeeded in controlling them but activity on the site had to be stopped.
The Zawiya refinery, one of the largest in the country with a refining capacity exceeding 120,000 barrels per day, was shut down after clashes between local armed groups, which broke out early on Sunday.
“Clashes with heavy weapons and medium weapons broke out between armed groups in the perimeter of the refinery, causing serious fires, brought under control by civil defense personnel,” according to the press release.
The NOC announced the suspension of production, declaring “a state of force majeure and a state of emergency level three (maximum degree) after the damage caused to several tanks at the Zawiya refinery in the early hours of December 15” , according to its press release.
Invoked in exceptional circumstances, the “state of force majeure” allows an exemption from the liability of the NOC in the event of non-compliance with oil delivery contracts.
Since the fall and death of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya, which has the most abundant hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, has struggled to extricate itself from a decade of chaos and divisions, with two rival governments which compete for power.
Blockages of oil and gas sites have been frequent in recent years in Libya, linked either to social demands, security threats or political disputes. Thanks to a lull and new investments in infrastructure, production, at around 1.2 million barrels per day for around ten years, increased at the beginning of December to 1.4 million barrels per day (compared to 1. 5 to 1.6 million before the 2011 Revolution).
