Occidental Petroleum Makes First Visit To Libya In Almost 14 Years
Dow Jones Business News, November 24
LONDON -- Representatives of oil and gas company Occidental
Petroleum Corp. were in Libya last week to survey oil production assets the
company was forced to leave behind because of U.S. sanctions imposed
about 14 years ago, an official at the Libyan oil ministry said Wednesday.
"They had positive discussions with oil leaders in Tripoli," the official, who
asked not to be identified said in an interview this week.
It was the first such visit by an American company with assets in Libya since
the sanctions were imposed in 1986.
Los Angeles-based Occidental (OXY) declined to comment on the trip.
"We have no comment on Libya," a spokesman told Dow Jones
Newswires.
Last April, the U.N. Security Council suspended sanctions against Libya,
including a ban on air travel, after Libya agreed to surrender two suspects
wanted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am jet 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland,
for a trial by a Scottish court in the Netherlands next year. The bombing
killed 270 people.
After the Security Council action, U.S. oil companies with interests in Libya
asked for permission to survey their assets in Libya. Thus far, only
Occidental's request has been approved by the U.S. government.
A request similar to Occidental's has been filed with the Treasury
Department by a three-company oil consortium comprised of Amerada
Hess (AHC), Conoco Inc. (COCA) and USX Marathon (MRO), all of
which, like Occidental, left Libya in 1986.
Under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, or ILSA, passed three years ago, the
U.S. government reserves the right to punish foreign companies making
major investments in Iran and Libya.
But despite the U.S. government's intentions, a growing number of
international oil companies have thumbed their noses at ILSA while U.S.
companies have urged the government to suspend unilateral U.S. sanctions
against Libya.
The companies have argued that such action would be a logical follow-up to
the sanction suspension taken by the Security Council.
Among other sanctions, the U.S. bars most trade with Libya. The
administration has said it is watching to see whether Libya complies with the
demands the Security Council has set for the outright lifting of the sanctions.
Libya is required to end and renounce all forms of terrorism, compensate
families of Pan Am 103 victims, admit responsibility for its officials' actions
and cooperate with the investigation and trial. |
