In brief
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the halt of crude pumping from the Hamada fields to the Zawiya refinery after an armed group shut a valve, creating an immediate pressure spike. The NOC warned of a potential loss of about 15,000 barrels per day and urged authorities to reopen the valve urgently. The incident highlights the vulnerability of Libya’s oil infrastructure to security incidents.
On Friday, Libya’s state‑owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) issued a statement announcing that it had halted the flow of crude oil from the Hamada oil fields to the Zawiya refinery after an armed group shut a valve on the main pipeline. The announcement was made late in the afternoon and the abrupt stoppage has immediately affected the refinery’s feedstock supply and the broader crude distribution network in the northwestern region of the country.
The main pipeline that carries crude from the Hamada fields to the Zawiya refinery stretches across the interior northwestern region of Libya and terminates at the refinery located on the coast approximately 120 kilometres west of Tripoli. The refinery is a critical processing facility for the country’s domestic fuel market and receives a mix of crude from several inland fields, making the Hamada‑Zawiya link a key artery in Libya’s oil logistics.
According to the NOC’s statement, the armed group’s action to shut the valve was sudden and unplanned, creating an immediate pressure spike within the pipeline. The technical teams that monitor the pipeline were compelled to stop pumping operations in order to safeguard the safety of the facility and to mitigate the risk of a potential blow‑out or damage to the pipeline infrastructure.
The NOC warned that if the pipeline remained closed, the loss of crude would amount to roughly 15,000 barrels per day, a volume that would significantly constrain the refinery’s processing capacity. The reduction in feedstock could translate into lower fuel output for the national market and affect both consumer supply and commercial fuel sales within the region.
In its communication, the NOC urged relevant authorities to take urgent measures to reopen the valve and resume pumping as soon as possible. The company reiterated the importance of protecting oil facilities from attacks that threaten production and the continuity of the supply chain, emphasizing that such disruptions have broader economic implications for the country.
The incident underscores the recurring vulnerability of Libya’s oil infrastructure to security incidents and highlights the continuing challenges that national carriers face in maintaining uninterrupted oil flows amid an unstable security environment. While the NOC has taken immediate safety measures, the long‑term repair and reassessment of the pipeline system will be required before normal operations can resume fully.
