TRIPOLI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- A terrorist group on Saturday blew up a crude oil pipeline near the capital Tripoli, the Libyan petroleum installations guards said.

"An explosion and fire broke out as a result of terrorist act in one of the valves on the 24 inch crude oil pipeline northwest of the town of Mrada, some 500km east of Tripoli," the petroleum installations guards said in a statement.

The pipeline belongs to Waha oil Cooperation, connecting the company's fields in Mrada oil basin to Sidra oil port in the oil crescent region.

"The bombing targeted the same pipeline that was bombed last year, while some maintenance operations were being carried out by the company," adding the statement.

Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has not comment yet on the material damage caused by the bombing.

In December 2017, a terrorist group bombed a crude oil pipeline of Waha company in a desert area through which it passes to Sidra oil port.

The repairs took more than a week, causing losses of more than 10 million U.S. dollars. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya, April 21 (Reuters) - A Libyan crude pipeline owed by the al-Waha oil company was attacked on Saturday by a “terrorist group”, a company source said.

A fire broke out but it was to early to say whether production had been affected, the source said. The pipeline was attacked in December. (Ulf.Laessing@thomsonreuters.com) </s> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A Libyan crude pipeline owned by the al-Waha oil company, feeding the port of Es Sider, was set on fire on Saturday causing the loss of between 70,000 barrels per day and 100,000 bpd, state firm NOC said.

NOC said on its Twitter feed the cause of the fire on the El-Zkout - Es Sider pipeline was unknown but a Waha source said a “terrorist group” was behind it.

The pipeline was attacked in December. Production loss then was also put at between 70,000 barrels a day and 100,000 bpd.

The fire broke out 21km from North West Marada, NOC roughly the same area of the December attack.

The area is frequented by Islamic State fighters, Libyan officials have said.

NOC said its fire fighters were at the site. </s> FILE: Production loss from a December attack on a Libyan pipeline was estimated at between 70,000 barrels a day and 100,000 bpd. Photo: Reuters

BENGHAZI, Libya - A Libyan crude pipeline owned by the al-Waha oil company, feeding the port of Es Sider, was attacked on Saturday by a “terrorist group”, state company NOC said.

A fire broke out but it was too early to say whether production had been affected, the source said.

The pipeline was attacked in December, causing a loss of production estimated at between 70,000 barrels a day and 100,000 bpd.

The fire broke out 21km from North West Marada, NOC roughly the same area of the December attack.

The area is frequented by Islamic State fighters, Libyan officials have said.

NOC said its firefighters were at the site. </s> A Libyan crude pipeline owned by the al-Waha oil company, feeding the Es Sider port, was set on fire on Saturday causing the loss of between 70,000 and 100,000 barrels per day.

The state’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on its Twitter feed, the cause of the fire on the El-Zkout – Es Sider pipeline was unknown but a Waha source said a “terrorist group” was behind it.

The pipeline was attacked in December. The fire broke out 21km from North West Marada, NOC roughly the same area of the December attack.

Libyan officials have said, the area is frequented by Islamic State fighters.NOC said its fire fighters were on site. </s> A Libyan crude pipeline owned by the al-Waha oil company, feeding the port of Es Sider, was attacked on Saturday by a “terrorist group”, a company source said, Reuters reported.

A fire broke out but it was to early to say whether production had been affected, the source said. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya, April 21 (Reuters) - A Libyan crude pipeline owned by the al-Waha oil company, feeding the port of Es Sider, was attacked on Saturday by a "terrorist group", a company source said.

A fire broke out but it was to early to say whether production had been affected, the source said. The pipeline was attacked in December. Production loss then was put at between 70,000 barrels a day and 100,000 bpd. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; editing by Andrew Roche) </s> A fire that broke out on a pipeline operated by Libya’s Waha Oil Co that feeds Es Sider port has been brought under control, an engineer at the port said on Sunday.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) had said it expected a loss of production of 70,000-100,000 barrels per day because of the fire which broke out on Saturday.

NOC said it was investigating the fire 21km (13 miles) from North West Marada. A source from Waha said militants were suspected of attacking the pipeline.

Militants were blamed for a previous attack on the pipeline in December, when the NOC also reported a production loss of 70,000-100,000 barrels per day.

The pipeline was repaired within a few days after the December attack.

Libyan officials have said fighters loyal to Islamic State are present in the area. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Repairs to a pipeline operated by Libya’s Waha Oil Co that was damaged by fire due to an attack are expected to take “a few days”, National Oil Corp said on Sunday.

NOC said the expected loss of production would be 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the fire broke out at an isolation valve 21 km (13 miles) from North West Marada on Saturday.

NOC and an engineer at Es Sider port, which the pipeline feeds, said the fire had been brought under control in the early hours of Sunday. “Early investigations indicate that the fire was started as a result of sabotage,” NOC said in a statement.

“Waha Oil Co maintenance teams have started work on the pipeline, with repair work estimated to complete within a few days.”

Militants were blamed for a previous attack on the pipeline in December, when NOC reported a similar production loss of 70,000-100,000 bpd.

Libya’s oil infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted by militants in recent years. Fighters loyal to Islamic State are in the area south of the country’s oil crescent, which includes Es Sider, according to Libyan and Western officials.

The pipeline was repaired within a few days after the December attack and output returned to normal levels.
Libyan terrorists bomb an oil pipeline near Mrada, causing an explosion and fire. The same pipeline was previously attacked in December.