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NOC El-Brega Refinery

Refinery in Libya. Approximate location 30.41411, 19.57931.

RefineryLibyaCO₂ estimate (modelled)

NOC El-Brega Refinery is a refinery in Libya. Its listed capacity is 10,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by National Oil Corp. By capacity it ranks #5 among 5 oil refineries in Libya. It emits about 53,535 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 12k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 38% below the national median for this sector.

10,000BBL per day
53,535t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#11CO₂ rank in Libya
5.35t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3144013.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityNOC El-Brega Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryLibya Climate TRACE
Coordinates30.41411, 19.57931 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity10,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorNational Oil Corp Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e53,535 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Libya rank#10 of 11 · top 90.9% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#593 of 630 · top 94.1% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

In context: how this facility compares

At 10,000 BBL per day, NOC El-Brega Refinery is below the median refinery in Libya (20,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 53,535 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

12kcars driven for a year
7.0khomes' annual energy use
892ktree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 54k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), NOC El-Brega Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €4.0M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈1k t–3k t/yr, worth €81k€202k, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

54k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€4.0M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
1k t–3k t/yr ≈ €81k€202kDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in Libya

NOC Ras Lanuf Refinery: 220,000 BBL per day220kNOC Ras La…NOC Zawia Refinery: 120,000 BBL per day120kNOC Zawia …AGOCO Tobruk Refinery: 20,000 BBL per day20kAGOCO Tobr…AGOCO Sarir Refinery: 10,000 BBL per day10kAGOCO Sari…NOC El-Brega Refinery: 10,000 BBL per day10kNOC El-Bre…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by National Oil Corp. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

NOC El-Brega Refinery sits in a hot desert climate zone (Köppen BWh), at 30.4°N in the northern hemisphere.

~24°Ctypical annual mean
~34°Ctypical warm-season
Hot desert: hot summers and mild winters

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
58/100environmental-severity index
14.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
36 kmdistance to coast
Very highCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1294 W/m² to ambient — roughly 0.99× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1229 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #5 largest of 5 oil refineries in Libya by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 30.41411, 19.57931. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 31,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 6,200 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is NOC El-Brega Refinery?

NOC El-Brega Refinery is a refinery in Libya. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for NOC El-Brega Refinery?

The open dataset lists 10,000 BBL per day of capacity for NOC El-Brega Refinery.

How much CO₂ does NOC El-Brega Refinery emit?

The page uses about 53,535 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #11 among facilities in Libya by estimated CO₂.

Where is NOC El-Brega Refinery located?

NOC El-Brega Refinery is in Libya at approximately 30.41411, 19.57931.

Who operates NOC El-Brega Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is National Oil Corp.

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