Libya’s NOC shuts refinery unit over pipeline blockade
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Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced an emergency shutdown of one of the refining units at the Zawiya refinery as crude stocks decline following the continued closure of the Sharara crude pipeline.
The decision follows the continued forced closure of Valve No. 7 along the pipeline transporting crude from the Sharara oilfield to Zawiya.
According to the NOC, personnel from the Petroleum Facilities Guard in southwestern Libya, together with an armed group, are maintaining the closure.
To mitigate the impact of the blockade, the NOC is assessing measures to maintain crude supplies to the Zawiya refinery as stocks approach depletion.
The corporation warned that continued closure of the pipeline could force the refinery’s remaining units to shut down successively.
The precautionary measure aims to preserve refinery operations and limit disruptions to domestic fuel supplies. The NOC said the disruption could affect the supply of petroleum products to the domestic market and increase the cost of importing fuel from abroad.
The NOC renewed its warnings regarding the economic implications of the blockade, saying the continued closure is reducing state revenues, increasing fuel-import costs and creating additional financial and technical pressures on the national economy.
The corporation said the closure had resulted in cumulative lost crude production of 720,362 barrels between September 21 and September 24, with direct financial losses exceeding $75 million. It warned that the losses would continue to rise if the pipeline remains closed.
The disruption stems from a dispute involving members of Libya’s Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) in the southwest, who have pressed demands related to their salaries and administrative status. The NOC has warned that the dispute and repeated interference with oil infrastructure are threatening production and crude supplies to the Zawiya refinery.
The standoff escalated on September 21, when PFG personnel in southwestern Libya, together with an armed group, closed Valve No. 7 on the Sharara-Zawiya pipeline. The closure sharply reduced crude flows from the Sharara field, one of Libya’s largest oil fields, adding to broader challenges facing the country’s oil sector, which has repeatedly been disrupted by armed groups and protesters seeking to press economic, political or labor demands.
