Libya’s largest functioning oil refinery has been closed and an emergency declared after clashes erupted near the facility in Zawiya, west of the capital, Tripoli, two engineers and the refinery’s operator said on Friday.
The refinery, about 40km west of Tripoli, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd). It is connected to the country’s 300,000 bpd Sharara oilfield.
Operator Azzawiya Oil Refining Company said it was forced to shut the plant completely and evacuate all tankers from the port after heavy shelling linked to the clashes struck multiple locations in the facility.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said several heavy-calibre projectiles landed in various parts of the oil complex, but there had been no significant damage so far.
Clashes had intensified and spread into the residential area adjacent to the refinery, increasing risks to the facility and surrounding areas, NOC added.
It said the refinery had been shut and all tankers evacuated from the port as a precautionary measure and fuel supplies to Tripoli and surrounding areas had not been affected.
There was no immediate indication of who was involved in the violence or its cause, though the city’s security directorate said it was a “security operation against outlaws”.
Libya has been plagued by unrest since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Zawiya has seen repeated armed clashes that have at times forced the closure of the coastal road to the Tunisian border.
Reports of unrest in the city circulated online, including unverified footage of gunfire echoing across Zawiya.
Reuters
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