Oil spill south of Libya's Zawiya ongoing amid Tripoli tensions

An oil spill on a pipeline south of the Zawiya refinery and export terminal in troubled Libya remained unresolved May 27, disrupting crude flows from the Hamada fields, sources said.

In a statement over the weekend, Libyan National Oil Corp. said its maintenance and emergency teams were working to stop the leak, publishing images of oil seeping into the desert.

Meanwhile, Arabian Gulf Oil Co., a key subsidiary of the state company, "immediately took the necessary measures upon discovering the leak, halting production from the Hamada fields through this line and closing the valve located in the Rayana area," NOC said.

The root cause of the spill is not yet known, the NOC said in its statement, adding that leaked oil would be recovered and any environmental impact addressed.

Sources confirmed that the issued had not been resolved by the afternoon of May 27.

AGOCO, which operates the large Sarir and Mesla fields, boasted multiyear production highs of 304,000 b/d of oil in March, NOC said at the time.

NOC could not be reached for comment on the matter.

While precise production from the Hamada fields is not known, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights suggested it was less than 1,000 b/d. In September 2024, AGOCO said it had increased output at its V29-NC8A well to 550 b/d.

The field's operators recently awarded SLB a contract to develop up to 10,000 b/d at the North Hamada 47 field, while the so-called NC-7 Hamada gas project -- the subject of intense rows between key Libyan political actors in recent years -- is understood to have the capacity to produce 200 MMcf/d of gas as well as significant volumes of oil.

The field lies in Libya's Ghadames Basin, some 135 km northwest of the al-Hamra oilfields -- also operated by Agoco -- which pump around 6,000 b/d, according to Commodity Insights data.

Zawiya is a key oil hub in western Libya, the territory of the internationally recognized Government of National Unity. Following the fall of Moammar Qadhafi in 2011 and a resulting civil war, rival administrations in the east and west run the country.

The Zawiya refinery is Libya's main crude-processing plant, with a capacity to process some 120,000 b/d of crude. However, its actual production level is understood to be significantly below that. Armed groups, protesters and political actors have regularly targeted the refinery during Libya's frequent bouts of political chaos.

The export terminal and refinery are supplied by Libya's giant 300,000 b/d Sharara and 90,000 b/d El-Feel fields, operated by foreign oil majors. Flows from the fields and the terminal were understood not to be affected by the spill as of May 27, nor were refinery operations.

The spill comes amid heightened tensions in the capital, Tripoli, following the reported killing of a high-profile militia leader, which caused the most severe fighting in the city in years. Amid popular protests, three ministers of the GNU resigned, dealing a blow to the authority of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeiba, analysts said.

The eruption of violence comes after Libya achieved a 12-year oil production high of 1.2 million b/d of oil, according to the Platts OPEC Survey from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The country is a major supplier of light sweet crude and gas to Europe, particularly amid efforts to shift away from Russian hydrocarbons after the invasion of Ukraine.

In its latest daily update May 23, NOC said Libya was producing 1.38 million b/d of crude and condensate.