Fires at Libya's Zawiya Refinery Brought Under Control, NOC Says

General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
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Fires at Libya's Zawiya Refinery Brought Under Control, NOC Says

General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
General view of the Libyan state National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, Libya July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo

Fires that broke out in a number of reservoirs in Libya's Zawiya refinery have been brought under control, Khaled Abulgasem Gulam, spokesperson for the country's National Oil Corporation (NOC), said in a statement on Sunday.

Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000 bpd Sharara oilfield.

Teams at the refinery are transferring the remaining contents to other reservoirs, Gulam said, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Sunday, NOC declared force majeure after reservoirs at the Zawiya refinery were severely damaged due to ongoing clashes between armed groups in its vicinity.

There was no immediate indications of who was involved in the violence or the reason for it.

NOC posted pictures on Facebook showing firefighting teams extinguishing the fires.

Libya's oil sector, a major source of income for the country, has been a target for local and broader political protests as well as security unrest since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.