Libya Set to Open Oil and Gas Projects to Foreign Companies

Libya plans to open eight oil and gas projects to bids from foreign firms, a senior Libyan official said yesterday, 10 days after U.S. President George W. Bush eased sanctions on the North African nation that recently renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, April 28).

Several U.S. oil companies have already moved to renegotiate their leases in Libya, the New York Times reported today. New projects up for auction would allow U.S. companies to catch up to their European counterparts, who moved in during the years when Americans were prohibited from doing business with Libya.

“American oil companies themselves have been pushing like mad because they have been excluded for so long, and they want to get where oil is, and they’re dying to go,” said one senior European oil executive. Regarding Libya, he added, “these guys need the money and technology, which oil companies can provide, and they have a lot of untapped areas that need developing. So why waste time?” (Neela Banerjee, New York Times, May 5).

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