The Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the town of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damage caused by armed clashes .
TRIPOLI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — The Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) on Sunday declared a state of force majeure at an oil refinery in the town of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, due to damage caused by armed clashes.
“The NOC regrets to declare a state of force majeure and a level three (highest) emergency situation. This is due to the fact that several storage tanks at the Zawiya refinery suffered significant damage to the “following gunfire early in the morning of Sunday, which caused serious fires. This damage is the direct consequence of armed clashes using light and medium weapons in the surroundings of the refinery,” said a press release. of the company.
The refinery’s security and safety personnel managed to bring the fires and gas leaks under control despite continued clashes around the refinery, the statement said.
The Zawiya refinery, the second largest in Libya, built in 1974, produces around 120,000 barrels of petroleum products per day.
The state of force majeure, invoked in exceptional circumstances, allows the NOC to exempt itself from all liability in the event of termination of oil delivery contracts.
The NOC called on relevant authorities to urgently end the clashes and keep oil installations out of the conflict zone, saying the damage to the refinery’s storage tanks, which contain highly flammable materials, constitutes a serious danger to the lives of civilians.
Libya’s oil industry, which forms the backbone of its economy, has often been mired in political disputes and armed conflict since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.■
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