Armed Group Halts Key Crude Pipeline Supplying Libya’s Zawiya Refinery
The corporation said it had received information that the group closed the pipeline’s main valve in the Riyayna area.
The 18-inch line is a major route for transporting crude to the Zawiya refinery, carrying output from both the Hamada and Tahara fields.
According to the NOC, the forced and unexpected shutdown caused operating pressure to rise sharply. Technical teams therefore stopped pumping through the line at 12:30 a.m. (1030 GMT Thursday) to prevent damage to the pipeline and production infrastructure.
The suspension halted crude deliveries from the oil fields connected to the route.
The corporation cautioned that maintaining the shutdown would result in the loss of 15,000 barrels per day of crude intended for the Zawiya refinery.
It also warned that the disruption endangered oil infrastructure and threatened the steady flow of crude to the refinery, potentially affecting the national economy.
The NOC denounced the action and called on the relevant authorities, particularly the Petroleum Facilities Guard, to secure the pipeline, reopen the valve and restore pumping operations without delay.
It further urged officials to safeguard oil installations and transport infrastructure against attacks that could undermine production and put the country’s oil resources at risk.
The latest incident comes after a similar disruption on Oct. 22, when the corporation reported that armed individuals had closed a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya pipeline, which transports crude from the Hamada and Tahara fields.
In a separate incident on Sept. 21, the NOC said members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard had shut a crude oil valve at the Sharara field in southwestern Libya, triggering a significant drop in output from one of the country’s largest oil-producing sites.
The corporation subsequently estimated that the Sharara disruption had caused financial losses of $95 million.
Members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard have repeatedly called for higher monthly wages, with comparable pay-related protests also reported among workers in other sectors across Libya.
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