BP set to begin oil drilling off Libya
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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Oil giant BP has confirmed it will begin drilling off the Libyan coast in the next few weeks.
The deepwater drilling will take place in the Gulf of Sirte following a deal signed in 2007 with Libya on oil and gas development.
The news comes amid major concerns over BP's environmental and safety record following the Gulf of Mexico spill.
It also follows claims, denied by BP, that it lobbied for Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi's release.
The Libyan was convicted of blowing up a Pan Am jumbo jet over the Scottish town in 1988, killing 270 people, but was freed by the Scottish government on medical grounds last August.
When the deal with Libya's National Oil Company was announced in 2007 BP set a minimum initial exploration commitment of $900m.
Chief executive Tony Hayward at the time hailed it as "BP's single biggest exploration commitment" and "a welcome return to the country for BP after more than 30 years".
BP spokesman David Nicholas told AFP news agency on Saturday: "We expect to begin the first well in the next few weeks", adding that the wells "can take six months or more to drill".