Libya’s NOC threatens force majeure at nation’s largest refinery after drone strikes

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has warned it may declare force majeure and suspend operations at the Zawiya refinery — the country’s largest operating refinery — if drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the city do not stop.

The most recent strike hit an oil blending and filling plant operated by Zawiya Oil Refining Company, landing near a main oil tank and pipeline network.

No casualties or material damage were reported from the attack itself, but Libya’s oil ministry confirmed that the targeted tank, which held approximately 4.5 million litres of gasoline, subsequently collapsed.

The incident was the third reported attack on oil assets in Zawiya across Sunday and Monday. No group has claimed responsibility, and Libyan authorities have not identified those believed to be behind the strikes.

The Zawiya refinery sits roughly 40 kilometres west of Tripoli and processes up to 120,000 barrels per day (bbl/d). It is also connected to the Sharara oilfield — Libya’s largest active oilfield, with a capacity of 300,000 bbl/d — making any sustained disruption at Zawiya a potential trigger for wider supply chain consequences across the country’s oil network.

A force majeure declaration would allow the NOC to suspend contractual obligations without legal penalty, a measure typically reserved for circumstances beyond an operator’s control. For Libya, where oil revenues underpin virtually all public expenditure, a halt at Zawiya would compound an already fragile fiscal position.

Libya has experienced persistent political and security instability since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s government in 2011, leaving the country divided between two rival administrations — one based in Tripoli and another in the east. That division has repeatedly exposed oil infrastructure to blockades by armed groups and protesters, making supply disruptions a recurring feature of the country’s energy landscape.

The Zawiya attacks are the latest episode in a long pattern of infrastructure vulnerability that has frustrated efforts to stabilise Libyan oil output and deter international investment. For North African energy markets and Mediterranean buyers who depend on Libyan crude, the situation serves as a reminder of how quickly political fragmentation can translate into supply risk.

No timeline has been given for a potential force majeure declaration, and the NOC has not indicated whether it has begun contingency planning to reroute supply from the Sharara field through alternative export infrastructure.