The Zawiya refinery, Libya’s largest refinery announced on Monday that it has suspended work, because of the spread of COVID-19.
In a statement, the refinery, which is located west of Tripoli, said it had closed its offices from Sept. 8-17, reducing staffing by 10%, and placing them on “emergency leave.”
Simultaneously, the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) in eastern Libya said it had suspended all work and activities for 30 days, except for operations relating to industrial safety and security. The company indicated that this decision is “to protect oil workers from the pandemic.”
On Monday, Libya reported more than 1,000 new cases, the highest daily record since the outbreak in March. Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), indicated that the total number of infections in the country exceeded 18,000.
None of the two oil companies announced any infections among their staff. They said that their measures were precautionary.
Libya’s output has fallen from 1.2 million barrels per day, to less than 100,000 bpd, which is mostly used for domestic consumption. This is due to the blockade imposed on exports since January, by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced on Monday that the shutdown of oil fields and ports has caused losses of more than 9.5 billion US dollars. It added that the blockade, which has been going on for the last 234 days, will affect financial arrangements, and salary provisions for the financial year 2020-2021.