Libya’s National Oil Corporation says individuals shut valve on Hamada-Zawiya crude oil pipeline

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said Thursday that individuals had shut a valve on the Hamada-Zawiya crude oil pipeline in the country’s west, which transports crude from the Hamada and al-Tahara oil fields.

In a statement, the corporation said “individuals,” whose identities were not disclosed, had entered the crude oil reception station operated by Arabian Gulf Oil Company, adjacent to the Zawiya refinery, and closed the isolation valve on the Hamada-Zawiya pipeline.

The corporation warned that the continued closure would lead to “the loss of quantities of crude oil production, negatively affecting oil revenues.”

It called for oil facilities to be kept free from any interference that could disrupt operational activities.

The NOC also urged the relevant authorities to “intervene immediately” to reopen the valve and secure the site.

The statement did not identify those responsible for closing the valve, while oil facility guards have been demanding higher monthly wages for some time as part of protests across several sectors.

In September, the corporation said a group of guards had “illegally shut a valve” on the main Hamada-Zawiya oil loading pipeline.

That same month, the NOC said armed members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard had closed a crude oil transport valve at the Sharara oil field in the country’s southwest, leading to a decline in production.

The corporation put the losses at the time at $95 million in a country that relies on oil exports for about 90% of its public budget.