The closures that hit the Libyan oil sector continue, as a result of the movements of the “Oil Facilities Guard,” threatening production and fuel supplies, and exacerbating financial losses, with the repercussions of closing a valve on the “Sharara” field crude transportation line moving to the “Zawiya” refinery, which forced the “National Oil Corporation” to stop one of its refining units.
The corporation explained in a statement, on Saturday, that the closure of valve No. 7 on the “Sharara-Zawia” line forced it to stop one of the refining units, with the aim of prolonging the operation period of the other unit to the maximum extent possible.
In parallel, the corporation is considering arranging a shipment of crude through the ports of Mellitah or Sidra to temporarily feed the refinery, to avoid transferring the crude shortage to fuel supplies, especially to power stations. The “West Tripoli” and “Harsha” stations need about 5,200 cubic meters of fuel per day.
The cessation of the refining unit comes days after the closure of an oil valve in the “Hamada” area on a line that transports crude from the “Sharara” field to “Zawiya,” which, according to the corporation, led to an increase in pressure inside the line and a decrease in the production of the field, whose capacity reaches about 300 thousand barrels per day.
The refining capacity of the “Zawiya” refinery is about 120 thousand barrels per day, which makes the continued interruption of the crude line affecting oil production and the supply of derivatives in western Libya.
The corporation had previously indicated that its technical teams were unable to reach the valve areas 6 and 7, calling on the Petroleum Facilities Guard in the southwest to reopen the line, while warning of the possibility of declaring “force majeure” if the closure continues.
These developments deepened the losses of the Libyan oil sector, as the total quantities lost during the five days of the closure, according to the corporation, amounted to about 942 thousand and 376 barrels of crude, while the direct financial losses until September 25 exceeded 95 million dollars.
An expert in the Libyan oil sector, Muhammad Al-Shehati, believes that the repercussions of closing the “Sharara” line are not limited to a decrease in crude production, but rather extend through an interconnected chain to various parts of the oil sector. Al-Shehati highlights that the decline in field production “means a decrease in the quantities of crude available for export, and at the same time reduces the supplies reaching the Zawiya refinery, which limits its ability to meet the needs of the local market for oil derivatives.” He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the continuation of the closure may lead to a reduction in refining operations, or their cessation, which will force Libya to compensate for the shortfall by increasing imports of petroleum derivatives from the global market,” pointing out that these developments “ultimately reflect on the state’s oil revenues, through a decline in crude exports and an increase in the cost of providing fuel to the local market.”
Regarding the demands for salary increases, Al-Shehati believes that they are “justified in light of the large inflation in the economy and the unfairness in the distribution of salaries,” noting that the problem is not limited to members of the “Oil Facilities Guard,” but includes other groups such as teachers and doctors. But he stresses “the necessity of taking into account the method of protest,” saying: “The demands, even if justified, must not lead to harming the public interest in this serious way.”
The crisis is due to movements initiated by members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard to demand the regularization of their financial and administrative situations and the application of a unified salary scale. It has recently expanded to include closing the gates of the Al-Zawiya Refinery and the Brega Oil Marketing Company, which hindered the entry of workers and the changing of shifts.
Protesters from the agency had given the authorities a 48-hour deadline on the sixth of this month to respond to their demands, before closing the gate to the “Zawiya” oil complex, in addition to a valve on the “Hamada-Zawiya” line, which led to the cessation of production in three fields, while members of the “Facilities Guard” demanded that the agency be transferred financially and administratively to the National Oil Corporation.
The Corporation reported that the Al-Buraiqa Company gate was partially opened, while the main gate of the Al-Zawiya Refinery remained closed, preventing the safe resumption of operations. It warned of the possibility of running out of crude stocks in the refinery tanks, which would then stop the refining units successively, disrupting the supply of petroleum derivatives to the local market.
On the other hand, the decision of the Prime Minister of the “Interim” Unity Government, Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, to apply the provisions regulating the salaries of army personnel to members of the “Petroleum Facilities Guard” came as an attempt to contain their demands, but the decision has not yet led to the reopening of the “Spark” line valve.
In a new executive step in its nuclear project, Egypt completed the installation of the “bottom plate” (reactor core) for the well of Unit Three of the “Dabaa Reactor” in the northwest of the country. The Nuclear Power Plants Authority confirmed the success of installing the bottom plate of the reactor well for the third nuclear unit, in coordination with the Russian general contractor, Atomstroyexport. The Authority stated in a statement on Saturday that the bottom plate of the reactor well represents “the link between the well equipment and the reactor pressure vessel, and ensures that the reactor pressure vessel is accurately aligned on its vertical axis. It also plays a major role in completing the reactor well system, as it comes within a precise installation sequence; The installation of the reactor pressure vessel in this model is preceded by the installation of the reactor core trap, the pouring of concrete into the support and stabilization structures, and then the installation of dry protection and thermal insulation for the cylindrical part of the vessel.
According to the Authority, the installation of the bottom plate of the reactor well paves the way for the most important event, which is “the installation of the reactor pressure vessel for the third nuclear unit, which is about 13 meters long, 4.5 meters in diameter, and weighs 320 tons.” On November 19, 2015, Cairo and Moscow signed a cooperation agreement to establish the “Dabaa” station at a cost of $25 billion. Russia provided a soft government loan to Egypt, and in December 2017, the two countries signed final agreements to build the station. The “Dabaa Plant” includes 4 nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts, 1,200 megawatts for each reactor. The first nuclear reactor is scheduled to begin operating in 2028, and then the other reactors will operate successively in 2030, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity.
Professor of Energy Engineering at the American University in Cairo, Gamal Al-Qalioubi, explains the importance of installing the “bottom plate” and the following executive and technical steps. He tells Asharq Al-Awsat: “The installation of the bottom plate, which is scientifically called (the reactor core), is the beginning of the fifth phase in the Dabaa project, which will include very precise steps and operations to reach trial operation.” Al-Qalioubi confirms that “the most prominent steps of the current fifth stage are connecting the mechanical parts of the power transformers, cold testing, industrial and nuclear safety tests, tests of alarm and extinguishing devices, complete installation of the upper mechanical part, operation on hot water, and trial operation, which is followed by the reactor entering the actual production stage.”
The sharp decline in the value of the Libyan dinar against the dollar on the “black market” has brought back the discussion of liberalizing the exchange rate and “floating the currency” to the forefront of economic interest in Libya, amid fears and warnings of possible repercussions on the prices of goods and services and the purchasing power of citizens. The revival of talk about “floating” coincided with a jump in the price of the dollar in the “parallel market” to about 9.80 dinars in the middle of last week, before it fell to 9.61 dinars at the end of it, while the gap between the official and parallel prices exceeds 3 dinars, which increases the cost of imports and imposes additional pressure on the prices of goods in the markets.
In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, a member of the “Planning and Finance Committee” in the Libyan House of Representatives, Fahmi Al-Tawati, believes that floating the dinar “cannot be implemented, in light of the political and institutional division that the country is witnessing, and the absence of cohesive executive institutions.” He is reassured that the House of Representatives and the Planning and Finance Committee “did not discuss any proposals regarding floating the currency.” Touati considers that “the transition to a more flexible exchange rate system requires integrated economic and financial reforms, and that any step of this kind requires a social protection network and measures that limit its repercussions on purchasing power and living standards, even in countries that enjoy institutional stability.”
These discussions come at a time when Libyans face increasing living pressures as a result of rising prices for goods and services. The latest official government data showed an increase in the general consumer price index last August by 14.3 percent, compared to the same month in 2025, according to the Department of Statistics and Census. Fears have not subsided despite the announcement by the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Mohamed Naji Issa, last Thursday, of work to contain the rise in the exchange rate, limit its repercussions on the prices of goods and services, and control inflation, reassuring that “raising the value of the dinar represents a primary goal for the bank during the next stage.”
