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Ra's Lanuf Refinery | Credit: News Libya

The Ra's Lanuf Refinery is Libya's largest oil refinery and one of the biggest refineries in North Africa. Located in Ra's Lanuf on the central coast in the Gulf of Sirte, approximately 550-600 km east of Tripoli, the facility is part of a larger petrochemical complex that includes an ethylene plant, polyethylene plant, utilities, and Ra's Lanuf Harbor.​

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 220,000 barrels per day (bpd), representing more than two-thirds of Libya's total refining capacity​

Refinery Type: Simple hydroskimming topping and reforming refinery with a single distillation tower

Startup Year: 1984​

Products: The refinery produces fuel oil, gas oil (diesel), naphtha, kerosene, and jet fuel. Despite being a simple refinery, its products meet market specifications due to the use of high-quality Libyan crude oil, primarily from the Sarir and Messla fields operated by Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO).​

Petrochemical Complex

The broader Ra's Lanuf complex includes petrochemical facilities with an ethylene plant capacity of 1.2 million tons per year. Main products include:​

• Ethylene: 330,000 tons per year
• Propylene: 170,000 tons per year
• Mixed C4: 130,000 tons per year
• Pyrolysis gasoline: 335,000 tons per year

Current Operational Status

Refinery: NOT OPERATIONAL (Shut Down Since 2013)

The Ra's Lanuf Refinery has been completely shut down since 2013 and remains offline as of November 2025. The closure is due to a prolonged legal and commercial dispute between Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and its Emirati joint venture partner, not due to technical or security issues.​

Petrochemical Plants: OPERATIONAL (Recently Restarted)

While the refinery itself remains closed, the petrochemical facilities at the Ra's Lanuf complex have been successfully restarted:

• Ethylene Plant: Resumed operations in October 2025 after an eight-month shutdown that began in February 2025. The plant restarted on October 15, 2025, with naphtha being fed into thermal cracking furnaces and the main compressor brought online. Full production of specification-grade products began within days of the restart.​
• Polyethylene Plant: The first production line had been operating, and in January 2025, the company successfully restarted the second polyethylene production line after more than 12 years of inactivity. This achievement was accomplished entirely by Libyan technical teams.​

References

1. Al Jazeera Encyclopedia. Nov 21, 2014. Ras Lanuf
2. Offshore Technology. Jan 9, 2018. Libya’s National Oil calls for Ras Lanuf refinery operations restart
3. S&P Global. Elza Turner. Nov 5, 2020. REFINERY NEWS ROUNDUP: Some of Libya's refineries resume, Ras Lanuf remains offline
4. The North Africa Post. Mar 1, 2021. NOC wins appeal against LERCO over Ras Lanuf Refinery dispute
5. Energy Capital & Power. Aug 13, 2021. Refineries in Libya by Capacity
6. News Libya. Apr 4, 2023. Ras Lanuf Refinery is one of the largest refineries in North Africa
7. Marefa. Ras Lanuf Refinery (Page last edited: Jul 17, 2024)
8. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Country Analysis: Libya (Page last updated: Dec 3, 2024)
9. National Oil Company. Jan 24, 2025. Ras Lanuf Successfully Restarts Second Polyethylene Production Line
10. Wikipedia. Ras Lanuf Refinery (Page last edited: Aug 8, 2025)
11. National Oil Corporation. Oct 13, 2025. Ras Lanuf Ethylene Plant Starts Its Initial Operations
12. Dispatch RISK ADVISORY. Oct 18, 2025. Libya: Ras Lanuf Ethylene Plant Back Online After 8-Month Shutdown
13. PETROLCOMET. Clients (Accessed: Nov 21 2025)