Huge fire breaks out at Libya’s Zawiya refinery after drone attack

A fire ignited at a diesel tank storage facility at Libya's Zawiya oil refinery on Monday, according to a statement from Brega Petroleum Marketing Company. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, despite being struck by an unknown force. Brega, a subsidiary of the state-owned NOC, manages fuel supplies for the country. The Zawiya refinery, Libya's largest with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, is situated 25 miles west of the capital Tripoli and relies on the Sharara oilfield, which is currently offline.

The company is actively coordinating with firefighting brigades to contain the inferno and is in the process of evaluating the extent of the damage. The refinery, which holds approximately 4.5 million liters of diesel, was specifically targeted by the incident. In response to the emergency, the company has declared a state of emergency in the area and called for immediate intervention and investigation into the matter by relevant authorities.

Unverified video footage circulating online shows massive flames and thick smoke engulfing Zawiya city. Despite the blaze, the refinery remains operational, according to two engineers working at the facility. This incident follows a drone crash into an untreated naphtha tank at the refinery on Saturday, resulting in a leak which was successfully contained by staff.