East-West Debt july 2004 news, Emerging Markets update : LIBYA
First step towards
return of US oil
companies to Libya
President Bush has opened
the door for US oil companies’
return to Libya, giving firms that
still hold potentially lucrative
concessions the go-ahead to
start negotiating their return to
the country.
Previously, the White House
only allowed US oil concerns to
visit Libya to monitor their holdings.
Now, the firms can
deploy technical teams to evaluate
oil fields, as well as business
representatives to iron out
terms for restarting operations.
The concession was among
measures announced by the
White House to reward Libya
for deciding to renounce mass
destruction weapons and compensate
the victims of the 1988
Lockerbie bombing.
The US said it would lift all
restrictions on Americans travelling
to Libya, allowing visits
for the first time in 23 years,
and would invite Tripoli to reestablish
partial diplomatic relations
by sending permanent
representatives to Washington.
“While more remains to be
done, Libya’s actions have been
serious, credible and consistent
with Colonel Gadaffi’s public
declaration that Libya seeks to
play a role in ‘building a new
world free from weapons of
mass destruction and from all
forms of terrorism’, “ the White
House said in a statement.
The announcement was
delayed after Shukri Ganem,
Libya’s prime minister, said in a
BBC interview that his country
had agreed to the Lockerbie
settlement only to “buy peace”
and bring an end to US and United
Nations sanctions. But later
Libya reiterated that it stood by
its letter to the UN last August,
which stated that it “accepts responsibility
for the actions of its
officials” in bringing down
PanAm Flight 103, killing 270
people.
Libya has the 11th largest
proven oil reserves in the world
and is thought to hold promise
for large additional oil and gas
discoveries. US companies have
been eager to exploit the opportunities
there. Four American oil
companies - Occidental Petroleum
and a coalition comprising
ConocoPhillips, Marathon and
Amerada Hess - hold oil leases
in Libya that date back to the
1950s when they were among
the first companies to create the
country’s petroleum industry.
US sanctions were imposed
in 1986 after Libyan agents
bombed a Berlin discotheque,
killing two US soldiers. Since
then, the US oil companies
have been given permission for
only occasional visits to Libya to
check on their holdings - but the
Libyan government did not terminate
the oil leases or turn
them over to European or Asian
oil companies. At the other
hand, the international isolation
and the consequential lack of
revenues cause Libya to default
on quite a large scale.
The measures announced
recently will not immediately
permit the companies to renew
full-scale operations in the country.
Instead they will now be
allowed to “negotiate the terms
of their re-entry into operations
in Libya”, the White House said.
US business people are
hoping and looking forward to
the ultimate lifting of sanctions.
They see this is as a significant
first step in that direction. The
easing of restrictions on the oil
companies is important because
it will help them retain their
leases and ultimately recover
their ability to operate if and
when the sanctions are finally
lifted.
Since year and day, East-
West Debt has been active on
the Libyan market and with
success. Many companies
having outstanding claims on
Libyan governmental entities
have seen their claim recovered
due to our intervention. Since
most of these debts are close to
be found to old for settlement,
we urge companies that still
hold Libyan claims to contact us
in order that we can offer our
recovery services for their benefit.
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