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

To: Tomas who wrote (984)	4/7/1999 11:30:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Oil conference in Geneva April 19-20 on opportunities for investing in Libya INTERVIEW - Libya says wants U.S. oil firms back By Abdelaziz Barrouhi TUNIS, April 7 (Reuters) - Libya's energy minister Abdullah Salem al-Badri wasted no time on Wednesday in inviting U.S. oil firms to return to Libya two days after U.N. sanctions were suspended. ''We invite U.S. firms which were our associates in the past to return to the Jamahiriya (Libya) and continue production,'' Badri told Reuters in a telephone interview from Tunis. ''Our doors are open to talk with them and to facilitate their operations and their return to Libya,'' he added. But unilateral U.S. sanctions dating back to the 1980s mean U.S. firms are unlikely to return to Libya any time soon, and it is European firms which filled the gap left by the Americans then who are likely to benefit from the easing of sanctions. U.S. oil companies, Exxon and Mobil, withdrew from Libya in 1982, a year after the United States imposed a trade embargo on Libya. Five other companies, Amerada Hess, Conoco, Grace Petroleum, Marathon and Occidental, remained in Libya until 1986, when President Ronald Reagan ordered them to cease activities there. U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992, were suspended on Monday after Libya handed over two men suspected in the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. The U.S. State Department said that even though Libya had turned over the suspects for trial by a Scottish court in the Netherlands, Washington would not remove its own sanctions yet. ''We need to have additional concerns alleviated (by Libya) before we will address modifying sanctions,'' State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters in Washington. Another deterrent is the U.S. Iran-Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, which penalises any company investing in the energy sectors of Iran and Libya. ''This law is not respected,'' Badri said, referring to deals concluded recently between European oil firms and Iran. Badri, describing Libya as ''a virgin for exploration,'' said he was ready to negotiate both with European companies and U.S. companies not previously involved in Libya. ''Libya is an important state in terms of its oil reserves and production, and a market which is very close to Europe and the European oil firms. We invite these (European) firms to enter much more (in Libya),'' Badri said. Badri said an international oil conference would be held in Geneva on April 19-20 on opportunities for investing in Libya. Several European oil companies, including Italian, French, German, Spanish and Austrian firms, are active in Libyan oil exploration and production, accounting for a third of Libya's oil output of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd). Foreign experts have said the U.N. sanctions, coupled with the U.S. embargo, delayed a number of field developments and oil recovery projects. Production from some Libyan fields has been in decline because of a lack of spare parts. ''The suspension of U.N. sanctions will enable swift and easier acquisition of equipment and spare parts,'' Badri said. He added that the end of an air ban would make it easier for the estimated 3,000 foreign oil workers to travel in and out of Libya while reducing costs for their companies. (Abdelaziz Barrouhi, newsroom, 2161-787538, fax 787454) biz.yahoo.com

To: Tomas who wrote (984)	4/9/1999 12:49:00 AM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

U.S. Asks For Talks With Libya By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Eighteen years after breaking diplomatic relations, the United States has asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to arrange face-to-face talks with Libya, U.S. officials said Thursday. ''We're willing to have such a meeting,'' said Peter Burleigh, the deputy U.S. ambassador, explaining that it would likely include Britain and would focus on the steps that Libya must take before U.N. sanctions can be lifted permanently. Burleigh's request to Annan to arrange talks with Libya's U.N. Ambassador Abuzed Omar Dorda, first reported in The Boston Globe on Thursday, came about two weeks ago. The U.S. initiative marks a significant change in Washington's attitude toward Libya following its handover Monday of two suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet, which triggered the suspension of U.N. sanctions imposed in 1992. Nonetheless, the United States still considers Moammar Gadhafi's government a pariah state, suspected of terrorist activities. Washington refused to lift U.S. sanctions after the handover of the two Libyans for trial in the Netherlands under Scottish law, and Libya's U.S. assets remain frozen. Americans are also essentially banned from trading with Libya or traveling there. Still, Washington's agreement to a meeting, which is expected to take place in the next few weeks, is an important step in ending Libya's isolation. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a resumption of diplomatic relations, which were broken in 1981, would likely be raised at the talks. Britain also broke diplomatic ties with Libya, in 1984. But Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said that in recent months he has met frequently with the Libyan ambassador to clarify the U.S.-British offer last August to try the two Libyans in the Netherlands under Scottish law. So a future meeting including the Americans and the secretary-general, while welcome, is ''no big deal for me,'' Greenstock said, noting that Britain has already offered to resume consular relations with Libya. The Security Council issued a statement Thursday welcoming the handover of the two Libyans, noting the automatic suspension of sanctions and expressing its ''deep appreciation'' to the governments of South Africa and Saudi Arabia for their help. Before the council considers lifting sanctions permanently, Annan must report within 90 days on Libya's compliance with other council demands - including Libya's renunciation of terrorism, its cooperation with the trial and its commitment to compensating victims' families if the two men are convicted. ''Those are the issue that have to be addressed in a way that's acceptable to all parties,'' Burleigh said, explaining why face-to-face talks were necessary. dailynews.yahoo.com