Libya: Oil Facilities Guard closes Zawiyah oil refinery

Tunis, 22 Sep (KUNA) -- Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Tuesday that a group of members of the Oil Facilities Guard closed the gates of Zawiyah Oil Refining Company (Zawiyah Refinery) and the gate of Barika Oil Marketing Company, preventing all employees and technicians from entering and hindering the shift changes of the night crews responsible for managing operational activities.

The NOC stated in a statement that these developments coincide with the continued closure of Valve No. 7 in the Hamada area on the Sharara crude oil pipeline by a number of members of the Oil Facilities Guard in the southwest and an armed group, resulting in the suspension of the crude oil pipeline serving the Sharara oil field, operated by Akakus Oil Operating Company, and destined for Zawiyah Port.

It clarified that the daily oil loss resulting from this closure reached approximately 130,000 barrels, with expectations that it will increase progressively if the closure persists.

The NOC emphasized that this closure exposes all operational activities within the oil complex to uncalculated technical, operational, and security risks and violates public safety standards, threatening severe damage to vital facilities and equipment and halting refining and oil supply operations.

It noted that the continuation of this obstruction will lead to a complete paralysis of operational activities within the complex, which will directly and immediately impact fuel supplies and the state's general revenues, as well as disrupt the import and distribution of petroleum products for the local market, thereby increasing supply costs and exacerbating the daily hardships of citizens.

The NOC had warned on Monday that it would declare a state of "force majeure" within the coming hours if the valve on the Sharara crude oil pipeline is not opened, in order to safeguard the state's contractual obligations.

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