A series of drone attacks in western Libya sparked a massive fire and caused a gasoline-storage tank to completely collapse at the Apnews, according to the Al Jazeera. The initial strike occurred on Monday evening, directly targeting tank number 402-T, which belonged to the Brega Oil Company and held approximately 4.5 million liters (1.2 million gallons) of gasoline. The resulting blaze burned through the night and into Tuesday afternoon, generating large fireballs and plumes of black and orange smoke.
Drone Strikes Trigger Tank Collapse at Libya’s Zawiya Oil Refinery
First responders from the Civil Defense agency deployed foam and water to combat the inferno. Health authorities and Libya’s Ambulance and Emergency Service reported no casualties or serious injuries from the initial strike, with most patients treated solely for smoke inhalation. Following the collapse of the storage tank, the National Oil Corporation declared a state of maximum emergency across the facility. The sequence of aerial assaults marked at least five separate strikes on the complex since Sunday, with subsequent drones targeting diesel tanks, a naphtha reservoir, a water desalination plant, an oil blending and filling plant, and the town’s power plant.
National Oil Corporation Warns of Potential Force Majeure
In response to the escalating security threat, the Al Jazeera issued a warning that it may have to declare a state of force majeure and suspend operations entirely at the country’s largest operating refinery if the sabotage attacks continue. The facility, which has a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, houses critical energy infrastructure including Libya’s largest oil refinery, an export terminal, and a power plant located about 40 to 47 kilometers (25 to 30 miles) west of the capital city of Tripoli.
Despite the severe damage to storage infrastructure, the corporation reported that overall fuel supplies, fuel reserves, and deliveries to gas stations remained unaffected and continued on schedule at normal daily quantities. The Brega Oil Company appealed to all parties to stay away from vital energy assets, emphasizing that oil installations are owned by all Libyans and that protecting them is a national responsibility. The House of Representatives’ Energy and Natural Resources Committee strongly condemned the attacks, labeling the refinery a cornerstone of the national economy.
Political Divisions and Rising Security Tensions
No group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes in Zawiya. The violence coincides with rising tensions in western Libya between the government and local armed groups, including warlord Mohamed Bahroun, who controls the city of Zawiya. Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst affiliated with the Royal United Services Institute in London, noted that the local warlord has been cornered by the government and his forces are likely resorting to desperate measures. Much of western Libya is ruled by local militias loosely allied with the administration of Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli.
Libya remains politically fractured between Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity in the west and a rival administration appointed by the House of Representatives and headed by Osama Hammad in the east. Concurrently, a separate security incident in the eastern city of Benghazi involved a car bomb that killed Maj. Gen. Fawzy al-Mansouri, director of military intelligence for the self-styled Libyan National Army commanded by Khalifa Haftar. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya continues efforts to resolve political disputes and pave the way for long-awaited national elections following years of conflict that followed the 2011 overthrow of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
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