Al Fayed shops for oil in Libya
The Times, April 19
BY CARL MORTISHED, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDITOR
NOT content with mining tourists for gold in Knightsbridge, Mohamed Al Fayed is heading to Libya to prospect for oil.
The owner of Harrods has agreed to develop three oil concessions in Libya. Harrods Petroleum Corporation, a company of which Mr Al Fayed is chairman, has agreed a deal with the Libyan National Oil Corporation.
At the same time, he is pursuing leisure opportunities, agreeing to establish a free trade zone with Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company. Harrods said that it would be involved in projects in Libyan tourism and mutual investments in other African countries.
Renewed links with Colonel Gaddafi's regime have sent foreign oil companies flying to the desert state but tourism poses different challenges. No one at Harrods would speculate whether Mr Al Fayed was considering a hotel, casino or retail project in Tripoli. Harrods is already in talks about gambling and retail investments in more obvious locations, such as Las Vegas.
But joint ventures in Libya may have historical resonances for the Egyptian tycoon. In 1992 Libya made a œ177 million investment in the Metropole Hotel chain, at that time a part of Lonrho, run by Tiny Rowland, Mr Al Fayed's former arch-enemy. The deal followed the Lockerbie bombing and Mr Rowland described Colonel Gaddafi as a "super friend," but the Lonrho boss had been less complimentary about Mr Al Fayed, calling him the "hero from zero". Tiny Rowland, who coveted Harrods, waged a vicious propaganda war against Mr Al Fayed after the latter secured Harrods.
Mr Al Fayed is no stranger to the oil business, said a Harrods spokesman. "He goes back a long way, having worked with Occidental Petroleum and other major oil companies in the Middle East."
He also chairs Harrods Energy, another oil vehicle.
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