An oil pipeline connecting the Zawiya Refinery in Libya to the capitol, Tripoli, has been closed down following an explosion and fire in the Joudaim District that broke out on Monday 26 February 2018. The pipeline supplies about two thirds of the fuel used in Tripoli, prompting fears of shortages when the news was released, but the Brega Oil Marketing Company, which operates the pipeline and supplies fuel in the city, has assured customers that it has sufficient reserves to maintain supplies until the pipeline is repaired.
Libyan firefighters tackle an oil fire near Zawiya. Libyan Observer.
Libya has suffered a number of serious oil fires in recent years, caused by a combination of a decaying infrastructure, and deliberate attacks linked to political instability in the North African Country. However on this occasion the cause of the fire appears to have been more mundane; the buried pipeline was apparently struck by a farmer while ploughing a field, resulting in a leak that ignited causing the explosion and subsequent fire. Nobody is thought to have been injured in the incident.
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