Dubai: One worker was killed and four others injured after an explosion ripped through a gas processing complex in Libya's coastal city of Brega on Wednesday, triggering a fire that emergency crews managed to bring under control, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.
The explosion occurred in a fuel gas pipeline supplying steam boilers at a gas plant operated by Sirte Oil Company in Marsa Al Brega, the NOC said in a statement.
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The corporation identified the deceased as an Arab worker and said the four injured were company employees. NOC Chairman Masoud Suleman said preliminary findings indicated that a gas leak in a pipeline feeding one of the boilers had caused the incident.
Emergency and firefighting teams rushed to the facility, isolated the gas pipelines and extinguished the blaze. The plant was shut down completely as a precaution, while crews secured the site to protect workers and infrastructure.
Despite the shutdown, the NOC said crude oil production and gas supplies to the domestic market had not been disrupted.
Concerns over maintenance delays
The NOC chairman raised concerns about delays in approving and releasing maintenance budgets, warning that such setbacks could undermine equipment reliability and workplace safety.
