Drone Hits Oil Tank at Zawiya Refinery in Western Libya

The company said the incident occurred at 3:45 a.m. when a drone hit untreated naphtha tank 1-7, causing an explosion and two holes in the tank wall, which led to a naphtha leak.

Operations and emergency teams responded immediately, stopped the leak and contained the situation. The company said there were no casualties or fires and reported no impact on refinery operations.

The company expressed concern over the presence of military equipment near the refinery, warning that armed activity in the facility’s vicinity poses serious risks to workers, infrastructure and the environment. It called on all parties to keep its facilities away from armed clashes and military activity.

The incident comes days after armed clashes in Zawiya near the refinery prompted the company to take precautionary measures to protect its employees, including exempting staff living in unsafe areas from reporting to work.

The Zawiya Refinery, operated by Libya’s National Oil Corporation, is one of the country’s largest refining facilities, with a capacity of about 120,000 barrels per day. It supplies the domestic market with petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and liquefied petroleum gas.