Fire breaks out at diesel tank at Libya's Zawiya oil depot - statement

Jerusalem Post/World NewsThe incident came two days after a drone crashed into an untreated naphtha tank at the Zawiya refinery early on Saturday, causing a leak that staff managed to control.Follow us on GoogleA general view shows a detail of the Zawiya Oil Refinery, some 40 kms west of Tripoli, on October 27, 2011. The complex built in two different stages in 1974 and 1976 receives crude oil from the desert oil fields and treats 120,000 tons of crude daily.(photo credit: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images)ByREUTERSAUGUST 10, 2026 22:32Updated: AUGUST 10, 2026 22:57A fire, accompanied by heavy smoke, broke out on Monday in a diesel tank oil depot at Libya's Zawiya refinery after the tank was struck under circumstances whose cause remains unknown, Brega Petroleum Marketing Company said in a statement.Brega is owned by state oil firm NOC and is in charge of fuel supplies.Zawiya refinery, the largest in the country as Ras Lanuf is out of operation, around 40 km (25 miles) west of Tripoli, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. It is connected to the country's 300,000 ⁠bpd Sharara oilfield.Firefighter brigades are working on containing the blaze, the company said, adding that it was assessing the damage and would provide updates once confirmed information became available.The tank, with an estimated 4.5 million liters of gasoline, "was directly targeted," NOC said in a statement, declaring the extreme state of emergency in the area.The new Libyan flag flutters outside an oil refinery in Zawiya on September 23, 2011. (credit: LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images)It demanded that competent authorities "immediately intervene" and launch investigations into the incident.Unverified footage posted on the internet showed huge blazes and thick black smoke billowing in the sky in Zawiya city.The refinery is still functioning without any suspension, two engineers working at the refinery said.The incident came two days after a drone crashed into an untreated naphtha tank at the Zawiya refinery early on Saturday, causing a leak that staff managed to control.Follow us on Google