Tripoli, Libya — One of Libya’s main refineries in the west has been shut down after clashes between local armed groups erupted early Sunday and caused fires on infrastructure, state oil company NOC said.

Several tanks at the Zawiya refinery, a town 45 km west of Tripoli and the only one in western Libya that supplies the local market with fuel, caught fire, according to videos posted on social media, before being brought under control.  

Built in 1974, the Zawiya refinery, which is also a port terminal for importing and exporting fuels, is the largest in the country after that of Ras Lanouf (north), with a refining capacity exceeding 120,000 barrels per day.

The NOC announced in a statement the suspension of production, declaring “a state of force majeure and a state of emergency level three (maximum degree) following the damage caused to several tanks at the Zawiya refinery in the early hours of December 15.”

“Clashes with heavy and medium weapons broke out between armed groups in the perimeter of the refinery, causing serious fires, brought under control by civil defense personnel,” according to the statement.

Libyan news sites reported a death toll of one dead and 10 injured among the armed groups, without official confirmation.  

“All the fires that broke out in the refinery’s tanks, which were hit by gunfire, have been brought under control,” NOC spokesperson Khaled Ghulam told Libya al-Ahrar TV.

“We reassure the residents of Zawiya and Tripoli that the fuel supply to the tanks of the Brega Oil distribution company is secure and that the distribution of gasoline to gas stations continues without interruption,” the official added.

Zawiya, the third largest city in Tripolitania after Tripoli and Misrata, is the scene of violent and recurring fighting between armed groups. In May, clashes between rival gangs left one dead and a dozen injured before the intervention of notables and tribal leaders.  

Classes have been suspended in all schools and at the university in Zawiya, according to the Libyan news agency Lana. The coastal road linking the city to Tripoli has been reopened after a closure that lasted until early morning.  

Invoked in exceptional circumstances, the “state of force majeure” allows an exemption from the NOC’s liability in the event of non-compliance with oil delivery contracts.

Since the fall and death of leader Muammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya, which has the most abundant hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, has struggled to extricate itself from more than a decade of chaos and division, with two rival governments vying for power.

Blockades of oil and gas sites have been frequent in recent years in Libya, linked either to social grievances, security threats or political disputes.  

Thanks to a lull and new investments in infrastructure, production, which has been around 1.2 million barrels per day for the past ten years, rose to 1.4 million barrels per day at the beginning of December (compared to 1.5 to 1.6 million before the 2011 Revolt).
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