IT IS still unclear what the future holds for foreign oil firms which had been operating in Libya.
Many British energy industry firms have interests in the North African country, including BP and Aberdeen-based drilling and engineering contractor KCA Deutag.
An official at Libyan rebel oil firm AGOCO said yesterday a government led by the rebels could have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil over their lack of support. But western powers, who have mostly backed the opposition to Gaddafi, are moving ahead with plans to support a new administration with which they hope to tap Libya’s vast oil wealth.
A spokesman for BP said yesterday: “We have to monitor the situation, think about restoring contact with the new government, and hope to restart activities when the situation allows.”
Oil reserves in Libya are estimated to be the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world, totalling 41.5billion barrels.
UK officials had to draw up plans with Nato allies at the end of February to rescue hundreds of oil workers stranded in camps in the Libyan desert. The Foreign Office helped more than 350 British citizens leave Libya in one day.
BP suspended operations in Libya in February following the escalating violence. Around 40 expatriate staff and their families, mostly based in the capital, Tripoli, were evacuated as it shut down work on preparations to drill in the Libyan desert.
BP halted operations in the county four years after it returned from a long gap. The company signed a deal worth at least £550million in 2007 to explore in Libya.
BP hailed the country as being “on the verge of making a return to the international arena” when it signed its exploration deal in 2007.
The agreement, finalised in the presence of then prime minister Tony Blair, gave BP the rights to explore 21,000sqmiles onshore near the desert city of Ghadames, and offshore in the Gulf of Sirte.
It sparked controversy and led to US claims that BP lobbied the UK Government for the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi.
BP had not operated in Libya for 30 years, as the country’s links to global terrorism led to strict sanctions being imposed by the UN.
KCA Deutag also evacuated expatriate workers in February. It had 15 operational land rigs in the country and a significant Libyan workforce.