Libya’s NOC losses reach $95m after Zawiya refinery unit shutdown — The National

In Libya, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) reported the shutdown of one of the processing units at the Zawiya refinery. Over a week, the company’s financial losses due to disruptions in oil supplies reached about $95 million, The National reports.

Pipeline blockage

According to NOC, the cause was the forced closure of a valve on the pipeline through which oil from the Sharara field is delivered to Zawiya. The corporation said the valve was shut by armed groups affiliated with the Oil Facilities Guard Agency of the Western South and the Western Military Zone.

Due to disruptions in the transportation of crude oil, lost production over the week exceeded 942,000 barrels. NOC recorded the largest daily losses, nearly 260,000 barrels, on Tuesday.

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Refinery operations under threat

The company said it was forced to shut down one of the processing units at the Zawiya refinery in order to keep the other operating for as long as possible. Zawiya is Libya’s largest operating refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

The facility produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, liquefied gas, fuel oil and petroleum distillate for domestic consumption. The complex is also connected by pipeline to Sharara, one of the country’s largest oil fields, whose output is supplied to the domestic market and exported.

NOC warned that a prolonged halt in oil flows through the main pipeline would directly affect the state’s oil revenues and increase spending on imports of petroleum products. According to the corporation, specialists planned the delivery of a shipment of oil through one of the ports to support refinery operations and avoid disruptions to power plant supplies.