Armed group shuts Libyan pipeline feeding Zawiya refinery

Libya's National Oil Corporation said an armed group closed a valve on Friday on the main Hamada crude pipeline to the Zawiya refinery, halting flows and putting about 15,000 barrels per day of refinery supply at risk.

Why it matters: It is the second time this month an armed group has halted crude flows to Zawiya, Libya's largest refinery at 120,000 barrels per day, a reminder that Libyan supply remains exposed to local armed actors rather than to field decline.

Data as of Reuters reporting of a National Oil Corporation statement, published October 30, 2026 and read in full in this run via Reuters syndication; the Arab News page itself was blocked to the text fetcher and a live-browser read was still pending at writing time. The NOC's own release was not read directly, so the figures are the corporation's as reported by Reuters, single wire source at judgment time.

An armed group closed a valve on Friday in Libya’s Rayayna area on the 18-inch crude pipeline that carries oil from the Hamada fields and the Tahara field to the Zawiya refinery, the National Oil Corporation said in a statement reported by Reuters. The sudden closure raised operating pressure on the line, and technical teams halted pumping at 12:30 a.m. to protect the pipeline and production facilities.

The corporation warned that a prolonged shutdown would disrupt approximately 15,000 barrels per day of crude intended for the refinery, and it urged the Petroleum Facilities Guard to secure the pipeline, reopen the valve and allow pumping to resume. Zawiya is Libya’s largest refinery, with capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, and Reuters noted this is the second time this month that oil flows to it have been halted by an armed group.

Armed group shuts Libyan pipeline feeding Zawiya refinery

Sources