Since August 8, the Zawiya Refinery in Libya has been hit by five consecutive rounds of drone strikes within just three days, severely damaging its storage and transportation systems.
- First round, early morning August 8: A drone struck the wall of an untreated naphtha storage tank at the Zawiya Refinery, causing a leak but no fire or casualties.
- Second round, August 9: A drone hit a gasoline storage tank at the refinery's tank farm, triggering a major fire with thick black smoke.
- Third round, August 9–10: Drone strikes targeted the oil blending and filling plant operated by Zawiya Oil Refining Company, but the drones crashed near the main storage tanks and pipeline networks without directly hitting their intended targets.
- Fourth round, evening of August 10: A drone struck a gasoline storage tank containing approximately 4.5 million liters of fuel at the Zawiya Refinery, causing a severe fire that completely collapsed the tank. The blaze raged for at least 12 hours.
- Fifth round, evening of August 11: A drone laden with explosives pierced the roof of the No. 4/4 diesel storage tank at the Zawiya Refinery. This attack caused a small fire, which was later extinguished.
The five rounds of strikes targeted gasoline tanks, diesel tanks, naphtha tanks, and an oil blending and filling plant. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far.
On August 11, Libya's National Oil Corporation explicitly stated that if the drone strikes against Zawiya petroleum facilities continue, the company may declare force majeure and completely halt operations at the Zawiya Refinery.
Located about 40 kilometers west of the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Zawiya Refinery has a daily processing capacity of approximately 120,000 barrels, making it one of the largest refineries in western Libya and a key fuel supply hub for the country.
The naphtha produced by the refinery is a core feedstock for ethylene cracking. The first round of strikes already hit a naphtha tank. If the refinery shuts down entirely due to force majeure, domestic refined product supply in Libya will tighten further, while naphtha supplies in the Mediterranean region will also come under pressure.
Even before the attacks, Libya's petroleum facilities had been operating at low capacity for an extended period due to political instability.
