Petroleum Facilities Guard Blocks Zawiya Refinery and Brega Marketing Gates, NOC Prepares Force Majeure

Members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard blocked the main gates of the Zawiya Oil Refining Company and the Brega Petroleum Marketing Company on Tuesday morning, September 22, 2026, preventing staff and technicians from entering and blocking the relief of night-shift crews, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. The blockade compounded the ongoing closure of Valve No. 7 on the Hamada-area Sharara pipeline — attributed to PFG personnel from the southwest region alongside an unnamed armed group — with roughly 130,000 bpd offline from Sharara and rising if the closure continued. The NOC called on those responsible to 'immediately reopen all gates' and warned continued obstruction risked 'complete operational paralysis' of the Zawiya complex, saying its board was prepared to declare force majeure to meet contractual obligations if the valve did not reopen. By Wednesday, September 23, the Brega Company's gate had been partially reopened, but the main gate to the Zawiya Refinery remained closed and no force majeure declaration had yet been confirmed.