KEY POINTS
- Drone attack caused minor damage at a Tripoli fuel depot.
- No casualties were reported and fuel supplies remained unaffected.
- NOC warned that attacks pose a direct threat to Libya’s fuel system.
A remotely controlled drone attempted to attack a fuel depot in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Thursday, September 3, raising fresh concerns about the security of the country’s critical energy infrastructure.
The state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) said the drone strike caused minor damage to parts of the facility but did not disrupt fuel supplies or ongoing operations.
According to the NOC, falling shrapnel damaged some pipelines and two fuel storage tanks, identified as tanks 213 and 220. Ahmed Al-Masallati, spokesperson for Brega Petroleum Marketing, the company responsible for managing Libya’s fuel supplies, confirmed that the damage was limited.
No deaths or injuries were reported, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Libyan authorities also did not identify any group as being behind the incident.
Fuel Levels Reduced as Precaution
Following the attack, technical teams began removing fuel from the affected storage tanks as a precautionary measure.
The NOC said the decision was intended to lower the fuel levels in the tanks and reduce the potential risk of a larger incident should further attacks occur.
Despite the damage, the corporation said fuel supply operations remained unaffected, suggesting that the incident had not immediately created shortages or disrupted distribution in the capital.
The NOC described attempts to attack oil and fuel facilities as a direct threat to Libya’s fuel supply system.
The incident highlights the continuing vulnerability of Libya’s energy infrastructure, which has faced repeated attacks, blockades and shutdowns since the 2011 uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The political instability that followed has repeatedly affected the country’s oil and gas sector, with energy facilities sometimes becoming targets in wider political and security disputes.
Thursday’s incident comes only weeks after another series of drone attacks targeted fuel storage tanks at the Zawiya oil complex in western Tripoli.
Several explosive-laden drones struck the facility in August, with at least one attack hitting a storage tank and completely destroying it in a fire.
The latest attempt therefore adds to concerns over the growing use of drones against strategically important energy facilities in and around the Libyan capital.
