Libyan Refineries on Fire: Drone Attack Strikes Zawiya Plant

Sun Sep 06 2026 01:51:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A drone strike ignites a massive fire at Libya's biggest Zawiya refinery, prompting emergency response and raising concerns about security.

Nightly drone attacks are now striking Libya’s most important oil refinery, the Zawiya plant, where a fuel tank collapse triggered a huge blaze. The National Oil Corporation has warned that continued assaults could force a shutdown. Emergency crews report only minor injuries from smoke inhalation, but the incident underscores the nation's ongoing instability amid a civil war that split the country since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Libyan emergency services are fighting a huge blaze at the country’s biggest oil refinery after a drone strike hit the plant last night.

The Zawiya refinery, located west of Tripoli, took a direct hit from a drone on Monday evening, targeting a massive fuel tank that held roughly 4.5 million litres. The impact vaporised the fuel, igniting an intense fire that led to the tank’s collapse.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said the refinery may have to suspend operations if attacks continue, but it stressed that no serious injuries were reported. Most emergency‑room patients were treated for smoke inhalation, the agency added.

With an output of about 120,000 barrels of oil per day, Zawiya is Libya’s most critical industrial asset. The recent strikes also included attacks on a naphtha reservoir and a water‑desalination plant, compounding fears that the country’s fragile stability is still under siege.

The attacks come at a time when Libya remains split into rival power centres – the east, led by General Khalifa Haftar, and the west, governed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. Since the 2011 fall of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the nation’s violent rivalry has undermined its oil sector and broader economy.