A drone struck an untreated naphtha storage tank at Libya’s Zawiya oil refinery in the early hours of August 8, hitting tank No. 1-7 at around 3:45 a.m. local time and punching two holes in its shell. The impact caused a limited naphtha leak, but no fire, no explosion, and no injuries.
NOC Chairman Masoud Suleman confirmed the incident, noting that refinery emergency teams moved quickly to contain the spill.
What happened at Zawiya
The Zawiya Oil Refining Company confirmed that operations at the refinery were not significantly disrupted following the strike. A second drone attack had also occurred the Saturday prior, though that incident produced no fire either.
Tank No. 1-7 held untreated naphtha, a light, highly flammable hydrocarbon fraction that sits early in the refining process.
