Conoco Hopes Lockerbie Verdict Improves Libya Access
By Stephen Voss
Houston, Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Comment from Conoco Inc. spokesman Carlton Adams on a verdict today by judges in the Netherlands that found a Libyan security official guilty of murder in the bombing of a Pam Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. While United Nations sanctions on Libya were lifted in 1999 when Libya handed over two suspects in the bombing, the U.S. still restricts trade with Libya, including by U.S. oil companies.
``Conoco has followed the proceedings in the Lockerbie trial with great interest because of its possible significance to the future of U.S.-Libya relations. We are pleased the trial occurred and that a verdict has been reached. Perhaps now the two countries will initiate discussions to resolve differences toward the ultimate goal of normalizing relations.
``A return to more normal relations between the two countries and the lifting of sanctions would allow Conoco to return to the Libyan assets that the company was forced to leave behind in 1986 when the sanctions were imposed,'' Adams said. Those assets were used for oil production, he said.
``We were in with Marathon and Amerada Hess in the Oasis field. The National Libyan Oil Corp. was also involved in the field. We left our assets behind and all revenues,'' Adams said, adding that he didn't know the value of those assets.
``We obtained a permit and license from the U.S. government in December 1999 to go back to Libya and look at the assets, the first time we had physically seen them. There has been contact and conversations between us and the national Libyan oil company, as permitted by U.S. sanctions.
``We would definitely want to return to those assets. That is something we have been very vocal about. We will continue as we have over the years to make our position on unilateral sanctions as clear to the present administration as we did to the past administration. Our opinion is that, all in all, at the end of the day the only people punished by them is U.S. companies. (U.S.) sanctions did not prevent European countries from entering Libya, and since the lifting of United Nations sanctions, European and other countries' oil companies have entered again, but not the U.S.'' |
