Libya Reopens Brega Oil Refinery After Nine-Year Shutdown to Increase Domestic Fuel Production
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The Arab Post
- . October 27, 2026
- . Update: October 27, 2026 5:37 pm
Libya resumes Brega oil refinery operations on Sunday, October 25, 2026, marking a major milestone for the downstream sector of the North African country’s oil industry. Libya restarts Brega oil refinery, The National Oil Corporation (NOC) has reported reopening of the historic Brega refinery following an extensive maintenance and upgrade job.
It had been barely functioning for more than nine years, stemming from three major factors: armed conflict, political division and chronic infrastructure neglect. A significant structural refurbishment project consisting of a full replacement of the catalysts, installation of a new control room and system upgrades was undertaken to restore the site to operation.
A report by the Libyan audit bureau earlier this year in June emphasized that the 40-year-old refinery had experienced frequent technical problems which have hampered production. The NOC has carried out these comprehensive repairs, thus eliminating these structural weaknesses.
Unlocking the Brega Refinery Processing Capacity
As far as what the site can process, it has a primary crude processing capacity of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd). This localized production capability is very important to ensure the country’s domestic fuel supply, while also gradually reducing its need to import costly fuels, the Libyan News Agency (LANA) said.
In addition to crude oil distillation, the NOC was also able to restart an important natural gas processing unit at the Brega site. This newly activated unit enables 60 mmcf/d of natural gas to be collected and piped in line with the national pipeline system.
Targeting a Massive Gas Flaring Reduction – Libya restarts Brega oil refinery
Prior to this successful restart, the natural gas that was associated with this plant was regularly flared into the air. This gas is reported to be a huge gas flaring cut, for the area.
The change in operation has two immediate advantages: the feed supply for the domestic power generation plants is met and one of the biggest environmental burdens is eliminated.
The energy industry bounce continued this past weekend to other downstream assets. The Sirte Oil Company operating in the area also said that two large methanol production plants were also shut down for required maintenance and that production could resume there.
Libya is almost certain to be Africa’s biggest proven crude reserve, but the region’s midstream and refining capabilities have historically been significantly undersized, industry analysts at Oil & Gas Middle East say. Moreover, the return of this facility is in line with the recent activation of the Al-Rashad field, which is a step-by-step recovery in the country’s energy grid, though it is an incremental but tangible one.
The NOC’s success in bringing this important energy producer in the Mediterranean back to full working order is another major step towards resource efficiency. Finally, Libya restarts Brega oil refinery, the government wants to be certain its fuel supply from Libya is not met by its own oil and complete the modernization of its petroleum infrastructure.
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