Lundin Oil: European oil firms poised to gain in Libya, at Americans' expense
LONDON - AP World News, April 12
For Swedish oil executive Magnus Nordin,
the suspension of U.N. sanctions against
Libya means no longer having to take an
exhausting, five-hour taxi ride to reach
his firm's office in the Libyan capital.
Until now, the deputy managing director of
Lundin Oil AB has had to travel to Libya by
way of a flight to neighboring Tunisia, then
hail a cab for the cross-border journey to
Tripoli.
But those circuitous trips should soon be just
an unpleasant memory.
Libya's is North Africa's most prolific oil
patch, and its underdeveloped oil industry
will now be able to obtain the spare parts
and more of the capital needed to expand
production.
Foreign oil companies active in Libya _ most
of them European _ anticipate that banks will
now be more willing to finance them.
European energy companies such as Italy's
ENI, Repsol of Spain and Austria's OMV
helped fill the void created by the American
exodus. They've been busy; even under U.N.
sanctions, Libya was allowed to continue
exporting crude.
Promising areas of the country remain to be
explored. Lundin, the Swedish firm, is prospecting
at En Naga in the Sahara, 1,000 kms (620 miles)
southeast of Tripoli.
The only players who stand to lose from the
U.N. decision are American companies, which
were forced to withdraw from Libya when the
United States imposed its own unilateral
embargo in 1986. The United States has so
far refused to end its embargo, preventing
U.S. firms from returning to oil fields they
helped discover more than 30 years ago.
The bigger issue, however, is U.S.-Libyan
political relations. A decision by the United
States to lift its sanctions would stimulate
Libya's oil industry and foreign oil companies
alike. |
