Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Aug 12
Drone Attack Collapses 4.5 Million-Liter Gasoline Tank at Libya's Zawiya Refinery as Fires Are Contained
Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Aug 12

Drone Attack Collapses 4.5 Million-Liter Gasoline Tank at Libya's Zawiya Refinery as Fires Are Contained

3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Aug 12

Summary

  • Engineers said damage at Libya's Zawiya refinery was limited after explosives-laden drones struck a gasoline tank holding about 4.5 million liters, collapsing it and interrupting operations.
  • Brega Petroleum and the National Oil Corporation said firefighters brought the blaze under control faster than expected, though the attacker has not been identified.
  • Two more drones targeted the nearby Zawiya power plant early Tuesday, with one hitting the fire-fighting system but causing no further damage.
  • Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah called the strikes on civilian infrastructure an organized act that would not go unanswered.
  • Zawiya, home to Libya's largest refinery, sits in a country still split between rival administrations; that instability cut 2024 oil exports by more than half despite June output reaching 1.44 million barrels a day.

Insights

Who stands to gain the most from crippling Libya's largest refinery with cheap drone technology?
Could the destruction of Zawiya's fuel reserves trigger a devastating new chapter in Libya's fractured political landscape?
With millions of liters up in smoke, what hidden faction is trying to force the Tripoli government to its knees?