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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (1248)	8/20/1999 11:30:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

AFX (UK) Aug.20: Sodra Petroleum To Decide On More Falklands Write-Offs After Study Completed Sodra Petroleum AB said it will make a further decision on writing off exploration expenditure once Robertson Research has completed a study of data from its operations in the Falkland Islands. "To date, Robertson Research has compiled all the data available and started the first studies which involved seismic processing and interpretation of the 9000 km of 2D seismic available in the Basin," the company said. The report will be completed during the second half of 1999. For the six months to June, the group reported net profit of 1.406 mln skr against 7.88 mln a year earlier. The parent company saw net profit for the same period of 477,000 skr against a loss of 2.519 mln a year ago. je/ Sodra Petroleum's parent company Lundin Oil AB reported a net loss of 17.5 mln skr for the first half to end-June. The loss per share was 0.22 skr, down from a 0.38 loss. The pretax loss was 1.3 mln skr, compared with a 3.7 mln profit. Lundin attributed the loss to the continued depressed world oil prices throughout the majority of the period. "It is expected that the recent recovery in oil prices will result in a return to profitability for the company in the third quarter," it added. Lundin Oil received an average price on its crude oil sales of 13.54 usd per barrel for the first six months, compared with 12.89 usd in 1998. The average oil price received for July was 18.75 usd per barrel. Production for the first six months on a working interest basis amounted to 2.44 mln barrels of oil equivalents, of which 2.119 mln were barrels of oil. Lundin said this corresponds to a production of 13,488 barrels of oil equivalents per day for the half year. The company said a field development plan for the En Naga North and West oil field in Libya has been submitted for the approval of the management committee. The forecast peak production rate from the En Naga North and West field is estimated at 22,000 bpd, 24 months after start-up. Lundin Oil said it is currently in discussions with various financial institutions regarding a project financing for the development. It said the discussions with financial institutions are well advanced and that it is "confident" that the funding of the development costs will be successfully completed. ak/

To: Tomas who wrote (1248)	9/1/1999 9:01:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2742

Libya: Tripoli urged to free economy - Financial Times, September 2 By Mark Huband in Tripoli Libya's growing need for foreign investment is expected to intensify pressure for further economic liberalisation despite the government's determination to retain control over the economy. Government strategy and the demands of foreign companies intent on exploiting an estimated $9bn worth of investment opportunities in Libya following the suspension of United Nations sanctions earlier this year will be discussed today at the first of a series of investor conferences in Tripoli to be organised by the government. The conference will be a big test of the government's readiness to cede greater control of the economy to the foreign and domestic private sectors, which are also expected to use it to demand greater transparency. Libya is also under pressure to improve its image abroad radically in order to encourage tourism. Central to the tourist development strategy is the potential for beach holidays as well as cultural tourism centring on extensive ancient ruins, in particular, the Roman ruins of Leptis Magna. Sanctions imposed in 1992 were suspended in April when Libya handed over for trial two men accused of masterminding the bombing of a US airliner over Scotland in 1988. The government estimates Libya lost $20bn as a result of sanctions, which included the freezing of assets abroad, a ban on imports of equipment for the oil sector, and an air and arms embargo. Foreign reserves now stand at $4bn, largely due to the low level of imports under sanctions. Officials are sensitive to the possibility that economic liberalisation may lead to pressure for a loosening of political control by the regime of Col Muammer Gadaffi, who celebrated 30 years in power yesterday. "Encouraging foreign investment is very important to us. But it's also very sensitive," said Bashir Ali Zenbil, organiser of today's conference and director of the Libyan Foreign Investment Board (LFIB) formed in 1997 as part of the moves towards a degree of economic reform. Conditions are expected to be imposed on foreign investors in areas which are domestically the most politically sensitive. In particular, repatriation of earnings by foreign workers will be limited if foreign companies do not also employ local labour. The measure is intended to prepare the economy for the arrival in the jobs market of the 50 per cent of the population under 15 years old. The government's hopes are pinned on tourism, infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing industry, as well as in the oil and gas sectors, which account for 50 per cent of government revenue and 95 per cent of export earnings. It also aims to resuscitate Libya's trading role, using the recently established Tripoli freeport as the nucleus for trade between Africa and Europe. "If we don't control investment it could be very dangerous. ..So, it will be guided. We are not going to open the country to foreign investors without any restrictions or limitations," Mr Zenbil said.