Libya has reopened a key crude oil pipeline linking the Sharara field to the Zawiya refinery and restarted the refinery’s initial processing units, restoring part of Libya’s disrupted oil operations after a six-day shutdown.
The National Oil Corporation said on September 27 that Valve 7 on the main Sharara-Zawiya pipeline had been reopened, allowing crude pumping to resume through the line to the Akakus tank farm at the Zawiya refinery. The NOC also restarted the refinery’s initial refining units and said refined petroleum products were expected to begin coming off the production line on Monday.
The reopening follows the forced closure of Valve 7 on September 21, which sharply reduced crude production at Sharara, one of Libya’s largest oil fields. The NOC said the disruption had caused cumulative production losses of 720,362 barrels through September 24 and direct financial losses exceeding $75 million. The corporation had warned that continued disruption could force further refinery shutdowns and increase Libya’s reliance on imported fuel.
The latest restart provides a direct operational reversal of that disruption, although the NOC said refinery production would resume gradually rather than immediately returning all operations to normal. The reopening is also important for domestic fuel supplies because the Zawiya refinery supplies petroleum products used by fuel distribution networks and power-generation facilities.
According to Libya’s state news agency, the NOC said refined products should begin moving through the refinery’s normal distribution channels after production resumes. That could ease some of the pressure created by the earlier crude shortage, which had threatened the availability of feedstock for the refinery.
The shutdown had already affected refinery operations before the pipeline was reopened. The NOC previously said it had shut one Zawiya refining unit to preserve the operating life of another unit as crude supplies dwindled. The corporation also warned that prolonged disruption could increase fuel-import costs and place additional pressure on public finances.
The Sharara pipeline carries crude from the southwestern Sharara field toward Zawiya, making its availability important both to domestic refining and Libya’s wider oil-export system. The disruption therefore affected more than refinery throughput, with reduced field production also cutting the volume of crude available for the country’s oil business.
The development comes as Libya’s oil sector remains vulnerable to operational and security disruptions. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya had warned that a prolonged closure of the pipeline could affect government revenues, fuel supplies and electricity generation, underscoring the broader economic significance of the infrastructure.
The reopening could therefore help restore crude production and refinery operations, but the extent and speed of the recovery will depend on sustained access to the pipeline and oil facilities. The NOC said operations and production levels would gradually return toward normal following the reopening of Valve 7.
The development also comes against a backdrop of heightened sensitivity in global oil markets, where supply disruptions have recently contributed to price volatility. Recent oil-market disruption and supply concerns have kept attention focused on changes in crude availability from major producing regions.
