In brief
After an armed group shut a valve on Libya's main Hamada pipeline, the National Oil Corporation halted crude pumping to the Zawiya refinery to prevent a pressure spike and safeguard facilities, warning that continued closure could cost roughly 15,000 barrels daily.
On Friday, Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced it would stop crude oil pumping from the Hamada fields to the Zawiya refinery after an armed group shut a valve on the main pipeline feeding the refinery.
That main line carries raw material from the north‑western inland hydrocarbon fields of Hamada all the way to the coastal refinery located in the town of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, according to the NOC statement.
The abrupt valve closure caused a sudden rise in pressure within the pipeline, prompting the NOC’s technical teams to intervene and terminate pumping operations to protect the refinery’s safety systems.
Officials mentioned that if the valve remained shut for an extended period, the loss of around 15,000 barrels of crude each day would be unavoidable.
Safety is a top priority for the NOC, which reaffirmed its obligation to prevent attacks that compromise the integrity of oil facilities and the continuity of production.
The NOC called for the relevant authorities to act immediately to reopen the valve and resume the flow of oil, urging that the situation be addressed without delay.
According to the company, the incident was carried out by an armed group that entered the pipeline control area and man‑handled the valve, a move the NOC described as a direct sabotage of national infrastructure.
The interruption of this supply line will disrupt the normal distribution of crude to the zawiya refinery, which processes Libyan oil into finished products for domestic use and export.
Because the refinery is one of the few major processing facilities in the country, the pause in receiving crude could affect the supply of fuels across the northwest region.
In the longer view, the NOC’s step to halt pumping aims to mitigate potential damage to the pipeline and refinery, while also highlighting the security challenges that threaten Libya’s oil sector.
Overall, the incident underscores the risks posed by armed interference with critical energy infrastructure, and the importance of rapid restoration efforts to maintain both safety and production continuity.
