One worker killed, four injured in fire and explosion at Libyan gas complex in Marsa Brega

Mixed · 2One worker was killed and four were injured on Wednesday 11 November after a fire and explosion at Sirte Oil Company's gas complex in Marsa Brega, Libya, the state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. 1 2 Mixed · 2Sirte Oil Company is a subsidiary of the NOC. The NOC described the dead man as an Arab worker and said the four injured were company employees. 1 2 Mixed · 2NOC Chairman Massoud Soleman (also spelled Masoud Suleman) said preliminary information pointed to a leak in a gas line supplying one of the facility's boilers; the NOC statement placed the explosion in a fuel gas pipeline feeding steam boilers. 1 2

Mixed · 2Firefighters isolated the gas lines and brought the blaze under control, and the entire plant was shut down as a precaution. 1 2 Mixed · 2The NOC said crude oil production and gas supplies to the domestic market were not disrupted, while Soleman told Reuters repairs were expected to take at least two weeks. 1 2 Mixed · 2Soleman said delays in allocating and disbursing budgets, and the resulting postponement of essential maintenance and overhauls, inevitably lead to such outcomes and could cause even greater disasters. 1 2

Centre · 1According to Gulf News, he also warned that postponed inspections and testing of critical safety systems, such as safety valves and alarms, could expose workers to greater risks. 2 Centre · 1The energy committee of Libya's House of Representatives called for an urgent technical investigation, including a review of maintenance procedures and safety systems, and demanded accountability for any negligence found. 2 Mixed · 2Residents of Brega said they heard a large explosion and saw thick black smoke rising into the sky. 1 2

Mixed · 2Libya's oil sector has faced repeated disruptions from political disputes and technical problems since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi. 1 2