Zawiya blast deepens strain on Libya power grid

An explosion near the Zawiya power station has knocked several generating units offline, adding fresh pressure to Libya’s electricity network after a series of attacks on energy infrastructure in the strategic western city.

The General Electricity Company of Libya said specialised teams were investigating the cause and technical circumstances of the blast, which occurred on Saturday, August 15. Engineers were also working to stabilise the national grid and gradually restore electricity to affected areas, with the utility expecting supplies to return to normal as repairs progressed.

The explosion followed days of disruption around Zawiya, about 45 kilometres west of Tripoli, where electricity and oil installations have been hit in a succession of drone attacks. The incidents have raised concerns about the vulnerability of facilities essential to both domestic power supplies and Libya’s oil-dependent economy.

A strike on the South Zawiya electricity substation on August 12 caused a complete outage and interrupted supplies across large areas south of the city. The attack inflicted substantial damage on network infrastructure and compounded problems at the nearby power station, where more than 700 megawatts of generating capacity had already become unavailable.

The Zawiya plant has an estimated total generating capacity of about 1,300 MW, making prolonged disruption there significant for a system that has struggled periodically with shortages, ageing infrastructure, maintenance requirements and damage caused by years of political instability.

General Electric, which has been carrying out maintenance and upgrading work at the plant, withdrew its technical personnel after the earlier attacks because of security concerns. The departure complicated efforts to restore unavailable capacity and highlighted the risks facing foreign companies involved in rehabilitating Libya’s energy infrastructure.

The latest explosion has not been publicly attributed to any group, and officials have not established whether it was linked to the preceding drone strikes. Electricity authorities have said the investigation is focused on determining precisely what caused the incident.

Zawiya has become a focal point of escalating security tensions because of the concentration of economically important installations around the city. Besides the power station and substations, the area contains Libya’s largest operating oil refinery, a major fuel depot and an export terminal.

Drone attacks earlier in the week targeted the Zawiya oil complex, including fuel storage facilities. One petrol tank holding about 4.5 million litres was directly hit and later collapsed. Fires were brought under control without reported casualties, while engineers said the refinery itself escaped direct damage.

The 120,000-barrel-a-day refinery is connected to the Sharara field, which can produce about 300,000 barrels per day and ranks among Libya’s most important oilfields. Fuel distribution from the Zawiya depot was temporarily disrupted before operations resumed, while supplies were supported by inventories elsewhere and incoming shipments.

Oil authorities warned during the attacks that continued strikes on energy facilities could force operational shutdowns. The threat carries broader economic consequences because petroleum exports remain Libya’s principal source of state revenue and foreign currency.

Production reached about 1.44 million barrels per day in June, its highest level since 2013, as authorities sought to rebuild output and attract international investment. Libya possesses Africa’s largest proven oil reserves and is pursuing longer-term plans to raise production towards two million barrels per day, although security problems and institutional divisions continue to complicate those ambitions.

The attacks come against the backdrop of political and armed rivalry in western Libya. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah has condemned strikes on oil and industrial installations as organised attacks against state assets and pledged measures to protect vital infrastructure.

No organisation has claimed responsibility for the sequence of drone attacks around Zawiya. The city remains influenced by competing armed groups, while Libya continues to be divided between rival centres of political and military power in the west and east more than a decade after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.