Daily power cuts in Libya, which have continued for nearly three months, are further increasing congestion at fuel stations. The outages last between 4 and 10 hours, leaving stations without generators unable to provide service, while vehicle queues outside stations that remain operational have been growing for about 10 days.
The intensification of clashes between armed groups in the western city of Zawiya and kamikaze drone attacks on oil facilities have caused disruptions at refineries in the area. Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced that production had resumed at the oil facilities in Zawiya after the situation calmed and said there was no need for residents to form queues.
Despite this, people continue to wait at stations across the country. Residents seeking to buy gasoline in cans for use in their generators are also contributing to the growing congestion.
Fuel shortage affects healthcare system
Yusuf Ali, who came from the city of Zintan, 170 kilometers south of the capital Tripoli, said he had been waiting in line for about an hour and a half to fill his vehicle and take a can of gasoline home. Ali said gasoline had been unavailable in Zintan for about 10 days and argued that the crisis could not be explained solely by fuel smuggling.
Ali said that power cuts and disruptions in the supply of oil to the domestic market could also be causing the queues, and noted that obtaining diesel had become a major problem. Saying that the price of diesel had risen to as much as 9 Libyan dinars per liter, Ali said that even people whose tanks were mostly full were waiting at stations out of panic.
Ali said large generators run on diesel and that the fuel shortage was negatively affecting hospitals and the healthcare system.
Residents call on authorities for a swift solution
Wajdi Abdullah Hayali, who was waiting in a fuel queue, said the country had experienced the crisis before. Hayali said the fundamental problem was the power cuts, noting that some stations did not have generators and that it was unclear how long service could continue under this arrangement.
Hayali called on the authorities to take residents’ difficulties into account and find a quick solution to the problem. He said the queues had shortened somewhat the previous day but had grown again, adding that people’s attempts to buy large quantities of fuel in a panic were deepening the crisis.
Ayman Osman, a resident of Tripoli, also said the power cuts were worsening the fuel crisis, just as they were affecting many areas of life. Osman said the queues outside stations had grown even longer over the past two days and called on the authorities to take action to find a solution as soon as possible.
