Conoco Convinced of End to Libya, Iran Sanctions
By Peg Mackey
DUBAI, March 27 (Reuters) - The head of U.S. oil giant Conoco said on Tuesday he was confident the United States will one day lift unilateral sanctions on Libya and Iran, but will stand guard over U.S. oil assets in Libya for now. "Based on my relationships and understanding of the (George W. Bush) administration, I am reasonably optimistic that (in the) long term sanctions will be modified or eliminated," Conoco Chairman and CEO Archie Dunham told Reuters.
"That will allow U.S. companies to freely participate as other U.S. allies participate today in the development of energy resources," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in Dubai.
Conoco, forced to abandon operations in OPEC member Libya 15 years ago following then-President Ronald Reagan's executive order, is keen to return to the North African country where it struck oil in 1959.
"We're looking forward to the time we can return," said Dunham, head of the fourth largest U.S. oil company. "We want to facilitate the return of the Oasis group (Conoco, Marathon, Amerada Hess and Occidental ) to Libya on very conciliatory terms".
But with Washington likely to roll over the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) - threatening sanctions against foreign energy firms investing in the two countries - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) is reviewing the status of the Oasis concession and may offer some of its assets to international oil companies, the Middle East Economic Survey reported on Monday.
Dunham said the Bush administration had served a stern warning to Tripoli.
"I know from my conversations with the U.S. administration that the U.S. government would look extremely unfavourably on the seizure of any U.S. assets by NOC or the allowing of other companies to be involved in the Oasis concession," he said.
"And it's my understanding that that message has been (recently) passed to the Libyan government," he added.
Dunham said he was not aware of Washington's potential recourse, but said "it would probably be directed more towards the country rather than companies".
Despite NOC's latest tone, Dunham said both sides were eager to do business again.
"They (NOC) very much want us to return. Their sense of frustration is exceeded only by our sense of frustration."
And having visited the Oasis concession last year, Dunham said Conoco was hoping to make a return trip to Libya soon.
"We have submitted an application to the U.S. treasury department requesting permission for another trip to Libya and hope we will receive the authorisation soon," he said.
NO TIMEFRAME ON SANCTIONS LIFTING
Dunham is convinced Washington's unilateral sanctions on Iran and Libya and multilateral sanctions on Iraq will be lifted, but he said predicting a timeframe was nonsensical.
"To try to guess which group of sanctions will be relieved first and in what manner is senseless," he said. "It's going to be based on broad policy issues - on political issues and on government-to-government intermediary contacts and understanding," he said.
But overall the Bush administration is more sympathetic to removing sanctions, he said.
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney believes that "unilateral sanctions are not the most effective tool to change the behaviour of a country," Dunham said.
And the Conoco CEO also detected a slight softening after Secretary of State Colin Powell's swing through the Middle East last month.
"His comments following his period in the region reflected a softening of position with respect to sanctions," Dunham said. |
