Al Maabar unveils masterplan for AED 1,400 billion Al Waha development in Tripoli

Abu Dhabi based Al Maabar, a joint venture of Abu Dhabi's leading real estate and investment companies, today unveiled the masterplan for its AED 1,400 billion (US$ 375 million) Al Waha development in Libya.

Al Maabar is implementing the project through its joint venture, Libya for Real Estate Investment and Development, with the Libyan Investment and Development Company (LIDCO) and together they made the announcement at the Skyline Real Estate Exhibition, being held in Tripoli from the 14-16 December.

In developing the masterplan for Al Waha, the project's architects, Atkins Middle East, responsible for some of the most iconic developments across the region, took inspiration from Libya's rich cultural heritage. This masterplan is inspired by three specific elements including: Ghadamis, an ancient oasis town located in West Libya famous for its enchanting multi level architecture, is reflected through the podium level Al Waha Towers; The outer fa ade of The Towers is a reflection of one of Libya's intrinsic art forms - the mosaic. This is illustrated through the use of coloured glass pieces positioned to resemble the sophisticated designs often found in the ancient cites. Lastly, a reference to Libya's oases is dramatically recreated in the form of idyllic water features and lush verdant surroundings.

On completion the ambitious development will span over 65,000 sq meters (built up area will be 265,000 sq meters), and include a 31 storey luxurious hotel, 100 serviced apartments, a 28-storey office tower, 11 mid-rise residential buildings, a health club and a shopping mall that will include a supermarket, food court and a five screen cinema.

Yousef Al Nowais, the Managing Director of Al Maabar, said: "Al Waha reflects our ambitions to transcend the mixed-used realty landscape in Tripoli. By announcing this, state-of-the-art project, we hope to meet the capital's growing needs for contemporary housing, business and entertainment areas." "We have ensured that Al Waha captures the essence of Libya's unique heritage and history in an iconic and modern urban design. The project will follow international standards and guidelines for environmental and architecture practices," he added.

Speaking on the importance of the Libyan real estate market, Al Nowais said, "Libya's unique geography and size, and the rapid modernization the country is now undertaking presents significant opportunities for real estate development. Prior to entering the Libyan market our priority was to establish a local partnership with a company that not only had excellent experience in the local realty market, but also shared our common vision and long-term goals - LIDCO has proven to be an excellent choice. Furthermore, through this partnership, Al Maabar will be able to add real value to its partner country through knowledge transfer, job creation and true collaboration." he added.

Abdul Hameed Al Dabeeba, Chairman and General Manager of LIDCO said, "We are proud to unveil the masterplan for Al Waha, which we hope will help to raise international awareness of Tripoli as a growing real estate market. We commenced work on Al Waha last year, and despite the global economic crisis that has affected the realty and financial sectors, we are progressing on budget and on schedule and are on track to complete the project as planned." "When the development becomes operational in 2012, approximately 6000 people will work and live in this community", he concluded.

Source: WAM/MAB

No new Libyan oil round for at least a year

Reuters reported that Libya has enough companies exploring for oil and will not hold any licensing rounds for at least a year as it waits for demand prospects to improve, the OPEC member's top oil official said on Thursday.

"Our effort now is to develop what we have, rather than trying to find more new oil," Shokri Ghanem told Reuters after a meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Doha.

Asked when a new round may be held, he said: "Not before one year. When you see the demand in the world is enough to absorb the available or excess capacity, then we will move".

After years of diplomatic isolation, Libya has opened up Africa's biggest proven oil reserves to dozens of foreign energy firms in a series of hotly-contested exploration rounds.

Those companies accepted tight revenue shares and an unpredictable, opaque operating environment for access to some of the world's most promising acreage.

Lower oil prices have made for a rockier ride this year for the foreign companies investing billions of dollars in Libya. Major firms operating there include BP, ENI and ExxonMobil.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi briefly raised the idea of oil sector nationalisation, and a dispute with Canadian oil firm Verenex ended with shareholders forced to sell the company to Libya.

The western-friendly Ghanem stepped down for a few weeks and his authority was challenged by a new Supreme Council for Energy Affairs (SCEA).

In another measure that rattled international energy firms, a government directive appeared stating that foreign joint ventures must have a Libyan national as chief executive.
Ghanem, chairman of Libya's state National Oil Corporation (NOC) since 2006, moved to reassure foreign oil firms on Thursday.

"Foreign companies working in Libya, especially in exploration, they will not be compelled to have a Libyan CEO. The oil industry is in a special situation. This is more about other sectors."
Neither existing nor new joint ventures in the oil industry would be affected, he said.

"It is of course a hope, an aim, that we see some Libyans being the CEOs of companies in Libya but of course we appreciate in the meantime the special nature of the oil companies."

OIL POLICY

Ghanem said NOC was still in charge of oil policy, playing down the role of the SCEA which is dominated by conservatives close to Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi.
"It is the NOC that is now responsible for the policy and the practices of the oil industry in Libya," he said.

Asked if decisions were approved by the SCEA, Ghanem said: "No, by the cabinet. Otherwise it is the NOC which oversees the activities of the companies which suggest to them proposals."
The creation of the SCEA led to speculation that Libya's powerful old guard was trying to undermine the authority of Ghanem, who foreign investors see as a sympathetic partner.
Investors were also worried that if the council took an active role in decision making it could further slow the pace of energy project approvals.

Sluggish bureaucracy aside, the drop in oil prices has led Libya and other OPEC members to look again at some investments to boost oil production.

Ghanem said on Saturday that Libya would not meet a 2012 oil output capacity target of 3 million barrels per day.

When oil prices peaked, national oil companies decided it was worth producing more and many new investment projects were studied, Ghanem said on Thursday.

"But then there were cost increases and oil prices went down," he said. "There is also a glut in capacity ... so it became non-economical to pursue so many expansions."

Party's Over For Libya's Epsa-4 Pioneers

One by one, the international oil companies (IOCs) that rushed into Libya to participate in the country's first two hotly contested Epsa-4 bid rounds in 2005 are preparing to pull out as their five-year exploration licenses approach expiry.

But despite the tricky year operators have endured in Libya, it is geology, rather than political interference by Tripoli, that is the key factor behind their departure (PIW Jun.8,p4). Discoveries on acreage awarded in those rounds have been rare, with only Canadian independent Verenex -- now set to be acquired by the state Libyan Investment Authority -- bucking the general trend of dry holes and small, subcommercial finds. "If over the next two to three years we don't see any serious exploration success, quite a few companies will be moving out of Libya," Repsol YPF's Libya country chief Felix Castaneda told a recent conference.

Australia independent Woodside is leading the way, announcing plans last month to exit Libya by early 2010. The UK's BG has also served notice that it intends to relinquish two of three exploration blocks it was awarded in 2005, and is soon expected to part with a third that it shares with Norway's Statoil. Woodside has had no drilling success on any of its four offshore Epsa-4 blocks, and is expected to let these licenses lapse next year, in addition to selling its interests in older Epsa-3 acreage. The writing is on the wall for a host of other companies -- Brazil's Petrobras and Australian partner Oil Search last month plugged and abandoned their single commitment well on offshore Block 18. Other winners from the first two Epsa-4 rounds are also understood to be on the way out, notably Chevron from Murzuq Area 177 and state China National Petroleum Corp. from offshore Block 17-4, while the jury is still out on the commerciality of the gas find made a year ago by the US' Hess on offshore Block 54.

Operators with older contracts and a few discoveries to their name face a rather different challenge, namely how to develop these finds under tougher Epsa-4 terms. When Libya's state National Oil Corp. (NOC) launched contract renegotiations with producers in 2007, it maintained that companies working under older and generally more generous terms would have to agree to new terms for the production phase conforming to the Epsa-4 model. For some, that crunch time is now fast approaching, and NOC is firmly in the driver's seat (PIW Nov.9,p5). Having spent millions on exploration, walking away is not an option, and many operators are keen to find a way to negotiate with NOC. But for those already facing technical challenges -- as Repsol and Austria's OMV are with their offshore NC-202 discoveries -- tougher Epsa-4 terms may jeopardize their development prospects.

New opportunities for IOCs in Libya remain limited, with one possible exception. Having taken note of the majors queuing up to develop Iraq's fields under service contracts, Shokri Ghanem -- albeit during his brief hiatus from his job as head of NOC -- recently said he would love to see the same happen in Libya (PIW Oct.26,p7). NOC has always maintained that Libya's bigger and mature producing fields are off-limits to foreign investors and will stay in the hands of NOC subsidiaries such as Agoco and Sirte Oil, quashing IOC hopes of landing re-development, enhanced oil recovery or production-sharing contracts for giant fields such as Sarir. New bid rounds are also on hold, at least until oil prices head back closer to $100 per barrel.

Source: Energy Intelligence Group

My picture on LBBC website

I am pleased to announce that this picture was chosen by the Libyan British Business Council to be used for its website and it’s placed on the main page. Although I am not a professional photographer but I think the picture a good presentation for business in Libya.

To see the original picture please see my page at Flicker and Panoramio.

The Libyan British Business Council (LBBC) is an organisation based in London and promoting British businesses to the Libyan market and it runs sometimes events on the Libyan market and arranging for missions to Libya, for more information please see their website http://www.lbbc.org.uk/

EID MUBARAK

EiD MuBaRak To ALl MuSLiMs aRoUnd ThE WoRlD…
MaY ThE WaRmTh AnD FeStIvItY Of ThE EiD SeAsOn FIll OuR WoRlD WiTh CoNtieNtMenT And PeAcE….

Woodside to exit the Libyan market

According to the latest reports coming from Sydney –Australia that Woodside Petroleum Ltd will exist Libya early next year, the company said in a statement it has negotiated a sale of its onshore assets in Libya and expects to exit the country early in 2010.

On Tuesday 23rd Nov 2009, forecast its full year oil and gas production in 2010 to fall to between 70 million and 75 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Woodside is Australia's second biggest oil and gas company reiterated its 2009 output guidance of 81 million to 86 million BOE. It said its 2010 forecast excludes a 5.8 million BOE contribution from its share of the Otway gas project, offshore Victoria state, which Woodside recently agreed to sell to Origin Energy Ltd.

Woodside Petroleum has gained entry into Libya in a consortium with exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSA) with the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC). The agreement was signed on Sunday, 30 November 2003, in Tripoli and covers five exploration blocks in the onshore Sirte Basin in northern Libya and one in the onshore Murzuq Basin in western Libya.

The consortium was made up of operator Woodside (45 per cent), Spanish oil company Repsol (35 per cent) and Greece's Hellenic Petroleum (20 per cent). The minimum initial exploration commitment was 13 exploration wells.


Source: WSJ & Sahra Oil Consultancy Ltd

The sunk beetle (Volkswagen)!!!!!

Have you ever seen an old Tripoli registered car sunk in the sea? Well, I guess you never did, but what you see here is a genuine beetle in the deep sea.

I found it actually when I was surfing a Libyan website called scuba Libya (www.scubalibya.com) and was reading about the activities in which I was happy to see such activities going on in Libya especially the Libyan cost is known for having some of the most beautiful creatures and beautiful sceneries and I went to see the photo gallery and I saw this one, the website does not give information or details about the car or the location.

I was rather shocked and surprised to see and thought of sharing it with the rest of the world, by the way, apparently there is an old plane as well sunk the sea.

LIBYA: A MARKET CONTENDER EVENT

AS you may know that Libya is a country full of potential opportunities in all sectors for international companies and especially UK businesses the sectors such as oil and gas, tourism, construction, educational etc, and the UK visible exports to Libya totalled £280m in last year which was about 21% from the year before of 2007.

So for the reasons above and many more, London Chamber of Commerce organised the event which took place Tuesday 17th Nov 2009 and was held at the chamber’s head office in London from 3.30pm till 7pm in which I was one of the attendees.

It was a good chance to networking and to meet up with some people who I already know and more new and talk about Libya and the Libyan market in general and I have to say that all speakers mentioned how nice, kind and polite there and more importantly how professional and skilful they are in terms of doing business and negotiate.

Of course there was a lot of talk about how difficult the Libyan market can be, starting from obtaining visas to finalising deals and agreements.

The programme of the event was as follows:-

3.30PM REGISTRATION AND TEA

3.50PM CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS
Michael Thomas
Director General
Middle East Association

4.00PM DOING BUSINESS IN LIBYA
Paul Austin
Chairman
British Business Group, Tripoli

4.20PM POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Adela Gooch
Programme Director, Key States
Wilton Park

4.40PM COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
John Parr
Deputy Director General
Libyan - British Business Council


4.50PM SECTOR FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
Dominic James
Director, Middle East and Africa
British Expertise

5.10PM CASE STUDY: APOLLO INSULATION
Colin Hawkes
Director
Apollo Insulation

5.25PM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

5.40PM CHAIRMAN’S CLOSING REMARKS

5.50PM DRINKS AND NETWORKING

7.00PM CLOSE

Alcatel-Lucent signed today 2 multi million Euro contracts in Libya with LPTIC telecom

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) announced today that it has further strengthened its working relationship with LPTIC (Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company) by signing a multi million Euro contract to deploy the second phase of Eastern Libya's optical fiber network.


Alcatel-Lucent is currently finalizing the first phase of deployment which includes 4,400 kilometers of optical fibre across the eastern part of the country. Once the second stage is complete, which will add a further 2,800 kilometres, Libya will be equipped with one of Africa's most widespread fibre optic backbones able to interface with neighbouring countries and support Libyan economic growth and social development.

Under the terms of the contract extension, Alcatel-Lucent will provide LPTIC with a turnkey solution including a comprehensive set of services including design, project management, installation of the fiber optic system, testing and commissioning.


LPTIC will benefit from Alcatel-Lucent's worldwide leadership and experience in turnkey optical projects to upgrade its network by expanding capacity and bandwidth availability to offer its customers the most advanced services.

"This second phase is one of the largest and most significant telecommunications investments in our country," Dr Mohamed Samir Elbuni, CEO of LPTIC. "Libya will be equipped with a state of the art network which gives the entire country a competitive advantage and enables it to continue bridging the digital divide." "This ambitious deployment allows LPTIC to offer new services and opportunities to its end-users and illustrates Alcatel-Lucent ability to efficiently deploy a very large scale optical fiber backbone," said Vincenzo Nesci, President of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in Middle East and Africa. "This agreement further cements the well established cooperation we have with LPTIC and confirms Alcatel-Lucent's leading position on the African market." 2- AlJeel AlJadeed for Technology selects Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS solution for advanced broadband services in Libya Tripoli, Libya, November 4 , 2009 - Alcatel-Lucent ( Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has been selected by Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology subsidiary company of LPTIC the telecom holding company in Libya, to deploy its IP/MPLS (Multi- Protocol Label Switching) backbone across the eastern part of Libya. Upon completion, Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology will be able to deliver advanced broadband services with superior quality to its residential and corporate subscribers.

Under the terms of this multi-million Euro contract, Alcatel-Lucent will provide Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology with a comprehensive set of services including design, consulting, project management, installation, commissioning, integration, on-site technical assistance and training.

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy an IP/MPLS infrastructure based on its Service Router portfolio and the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager (SAM), providing high bandwidth capacity for more personalized high-speed Internet, video and voice quality services.

"We recognize that to remain competitive, we must transform our network to IP to simplify our architecture and reduce our operational costs while still improving services for our residential and business customers," said Engineer Mofeed Dabbashi General Manager for Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology "The Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS portfolio is the ideal choice for making this transformation possible and as a result we can rapidly roll out broadband across the country with the highest quality advanced services." "Being selected by Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology for its transformation to IP means Libyans will benefit from of a state-of-the-art network with the highest availability and scalability to support personalized applications that require high-bandwidth," said Vincenzo Nesci President of Alcatel-Lucent activities in Middle East and Africa. "This win strengthens Alcatel-Lucent's leading position in the EMEA IP market and is further recognition of our ability to assist worldwide operators in their transformation to all-IP networks." Over 300 service providers in more than 100 countries around the world have selected the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS portfolio as key elements of their IP transformation. According to Ovum RHK, Alcatel-Lucent holds the #2 position in the IP/MPLS Edge market segment worldwide.

About Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology The founding of Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology to contribute to the improvement and development of the local telecommunications market and the transfer and resettlement of new technologies in communications, including the company can compete locally and internationally, by providing all the the integrated communications services, fixed and mobile services, Internet and broadcast services, next generation network. Aljeel Aljadeed for Technology is the first integrated operator in Libya, which is pursuing a strategy based on diversity and integration in the delivery of services to win customer satisfaction. For more information please visit: http://www.aljeel.ly/website About LPTIC Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company is the national telecom holding that provides fixed, mobile and internet related services throughout Libya.


Source: (UMCI News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)

Verenex, Libya aiming to meet deal deadline

Verenex Energy Inc. and Libya are hoping to finalise a deal by Friday to sell the company to a Libyan sovereign wealth fund, but a further delay is not ruled out, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has agreed to pay C$7.09 a share for Verenex, a Canadian oil firm with assets in Libya, in a deal valued at around C$316 million.

Verenex said in an October 20 statement the parties have until November 6 to sign a definitive agreement.

A source with knowledge of the talks said the parties were hoping to finalize the deal by Friday, but did not rule out the prospect of the "outside date" being extended for a second time.

"We're still targeting getting everything done by the 6th," said the source, who declined to be identified because the talks are confidential. "That's the target."

"We are still in negotiations, but I hope we will finalise everything," said a second source.

The Verenex saga highlights the risks for Western investors in Libya, holder of Africa's largest oil reserves. The government blocked a deal by China, which offered to buy Verenex for C$10 a share in February. Libya's sovereign wealth fund later agreed to buy the firm for the lower price.

Some investors in Verenex were sceptical the deal would be tied up by Friday.

"To extend this for another few weeks would be par for the course," said one shareholder. "What's another few weeks when this thing has been dragging on for months?"

Verenex shares, which have risen as high as C$9.74 and fallen as low as C$5.60 this year, closed at C$6.77 on Tuesday.

Shokri Ghanem, head of Libya's National Oil Corp., declined on Wednesday to comment on Verenex. Verenex executives could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Libya has attracted a wave of interest including from Western energy companies such as BP Plc, as well as Chinese and Japanese firms, since most international sanctions were lifted in 2004.

Progress in developing new projects has slowed, partly in line with determination across resource-holding countries to maximise their own returns from oil and gas reserves.

Verenex holds promising oil assets in Libya, where it has drilled 21 wells with a 95 percent success rate.

Source: Reuters

Solar power from Sahara a step closer

The German-led Desertec initiative believes it can deliver power to Europe as early as 2015


A $400bn (£240bn) plan to provide Europe with solar power from the Sahara moved a step closer to reality today with the formation of a consortium of 12 companies to carry out the work.
The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) aims to provide 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean sea.

The German-led consortium was brought together by Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, and consists of some of country's biggest engineering and power companies, including Siemens, E.ON, ABB and Deutsche Bank.

It now believes the DII can deliver solar power to Europe as early as 2015.
"We have now passed a real milestone as the company has been founded and there is definitely a profitable business there," said Professor Peter Höppe, Munich Re's head of climate change.
"We see this as a big step towards solving the two main problems facing the world in the coming years - climate change and energy security," said Höppe.

The solar technology involved is known as concentrated solar power (CSP) which uses mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays on a fluid container. The super-heated liquid then drives turbines to generate electricity. The advantage over solar photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight directly to electricity, is that if sufficient hot fluid is stored in containers, the generators can run all night.

The technology is not new - there have been CSP plants running in the deserts of California and Nevada for two decades. But it is the scale of the Desertec initiative which is a first, along with plans to connect North Africa to Europe with new high voltage direct current cables which transport electricity over great distances with little loss.

Leading European energy industry expert Paul van Son has been appointed chief executive of DII and will recruit staff to build up a framework to make the building of both power plants and the grid infrastructure.

"We recognise and strongly support the Desertec vision as a pivotal part of the transition to a sustainable energy supply in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," he said.
"Now the time has come to turn this vision into reality. That implies intensive cooperation with many parties and cultures to create a sound basis for feasible investments into renewable energy technologies and interconnected grids."

Desertec has gained broad support across Europe, with the newly elected German coalition government of Angela Merkel hoping the project could offset its dependence on Russian gas supplies.

North African governments are said to be keen, too, to further exploit their natural resources. Algeria and Libya are already big oil and gas suppliers to Europe.

Höppe said Munich Re had been concerned about the potential impact of climate change on the insurance business since the early 1970s. Extreme weather events related to climate change are already a reality and have the potential to be uninsurable against within a few decades, pointing to a possible crisis for the industry, he said.
"To keep our business model alive in 30 or 40 years we have to ensure things are still insurable," he said.

Munich Re also plans to invest in the new initiative and Höppe said banks were confident that they could raise sufficient funding to make the project work.

There are already some small CSP plants in Spain and North Africa, with the power used locally. But Desertec plans to see big power stations of one gigawatt operating in five years' time and exporting some current across the Mediterranean. The consortium stresses, though, that power generated by solar fields in North Africa would be used by North Africans as well as Europeans. North Africa has a small population relative to the size of its deserts. For similar reasons Australia is putting together its own Desertec initiative.

Dan Lewis, head of a new thinktank, the Economic Policy Centre, and author of a forthcoming energy policy paper, said: "This is just the sort of long-term, big-difference, energy security gain project that our UK short-term targets and policy framework can't deliver.

"Instead, we're spending ridiculous sums on no-hoper, marginal stuff like fusion energy and a massive smart meter rollout, that at best will only shave a fraction off peak demand."

Source: guarden.co.uk

BP to start Libya exploratory drilling in 2010

BP will begin exploratory drilling next year on both its onshore and offshore concessions in Libya, the head of the company's operations in the North African country said on Thursday.

"By the end of this year we will have the first of several prospects in the pipeline for (exploratory) drilling starting next year," Hugh McDowell, General Manager of BP Exploration Libya, told the Energy Exchange North Africa Oil and Gas Summit in Tunisia.

"Preparations to start drilling, both onshore and offshore, next year are very well underway," he said.

Furthermore BP in 2007 signed a major exploration and production agreement with Libya's National Oil Company (NOC). The initial exploration commitment is set at a minimum of $900million, with significant additional appraisal and development expenditures upon exploration success in which could reach $6 billion if oil or gas were found.

BP and the LIC will explore around 54,000 square kilometres (km2) of the onshore Ghadames and offshore frontier Sirt basins, equivalent to more than ten of BP's operated deepwater blocks in Angola. Successful exploration could lead to the drilling of around 20 appraisal wells.

Source: Reuter and Sahra Oil Consultancy

Algeria & Libya must soften energy terms-industry

Algeria and Libya must improve the terms they offer international energy companies or risk them taking their capital and expertise elsewhere, industry executives operating in North Africa said on Wednesday.

Algeria and Libya tightened the terms on production and exploration contracts they offer to foreign majors when oil prices were high, but these look less attractive now that world prices are half the level they were at their peak last year.

"In the next two or three years we are going to see companies moving away to other areas," if the terms on offer in North Africa are not improved, said Felix Castaneda, Libya General Manager for Spain's Respol.

"If the oil price goes up to $140 that is a different matter. We are talking about the current market conditions," he told an Energy Exchange North Africa Oil and Gas summit in the Tunisian capital.

In Algeria, the world's fourth biggest gas exporter, a 2006 law gave state energy firm Sonatrach a minimum 51 percent in every oil and gas exploration contract awarded to foreign companies. Taxes levied on foreign firms have also gone up.
Libya, home to Africa's biggest proven oil reserves, has negotiated tough terms with foreign oil majors, including large bonuses.

"We will certainly complete and fulfil what we have on our plate," said Arno Dettlinger, vice president for North-West Europe, North Africa and Latin America with the Exploration and Production arm of OMV , which has projects in Libya.
"But ... on new ventures everything has to be evaluated on its merits," he told the conference.

"Very certainly no more kind of gold rush sentiment in our company and these days I think we would be very critically looking at any new opportunity under those circumstances."

Italy's ENI, which has major projects in both Algeria and Libya, was slightly more bullish.

"This situation has to be evaluated, each and every agreement on its own merit," said Abdurahman Benyezza, the company's vice president for Algeria, Tunisia, Mali and Morocco.

"For the time being we are maintaining our business plans and we are not planning to do anything drastic," he said.

ALGERIA'S GAS

Algeria faces particular challenges because it is committed to increasing gas production to supply new pipeline capacity to Europe in the next few years.
European Union states are looking to Algeria as one way of reducing reliance on gas supplies from Russia following this year's dispute between Moscow and Kiev which disrupted supplies.

In Algeria's last licensing round in December only four out of 11 contract areas were awarded because of slack interest from international companies. A fresh round has been launched, but would-be bidders say the fiscal terms are unchanged.
"We see little reason that this round will be any more successful than the previous," said Craig McMahon, Middle East and North Africa lead analyst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

"The current strategy is not promoting exploration, and without a change is likely to lead to a shortfall in new projects by 2015," he said.

He said the global financial crisis and the fall in oil prices had made international energy companies more selective about where and how they invest their capital. "In this environment, maintaining the attention of investors is key."

Source: Reuters

Ghanem returned as head of Libya NOC

According to NOC website that on 25th Oct 2009 Dr. Saif Al islam (Gaddafi’s son) visited the NOC headquarter and held a meeting with Dr. Shokri Ghanem and Dr. Baghadadi al-Mahmudi the Libyan prime minster in which was a very clear indication that Dr. Shokri Ghanem returned to his office.

This is the first time that Dr. Ghanem returns to the NOC. During the meeting there were some discussion about some issue concering the oil sector in Libya and Dr. Gaddafi stressed the need for the management committees to continue its efforts to reach its aims

Dr. Ghanem’s return will surely make a positive impact on all foreign and Libyan private companies working in Libya.

Source: NOC & Sahra Oil Consultancy

Libya to attend World Tourism Show in London.

Libya will take part in the World Tourism Show in London , Great Britain, from 9 to 12 November, the Libyan General Tourist and Handicraf t Board announced Friday in its weekly bulletin here.

According to the bulletin, the Libyan stand at the show will feature the country 's historical heritage, natural potentials, tourist attraction sites and all oth e r assets the country is known for.

Meanwhile, the tourist board said 1,164 tourists of different nationalities who visited Libya in September 2009, made enquiries from some 51 Libyan companies an d corporations.
It said the tourists came from the following countries: France-244, Poland-216, Italy-185, Spain-101, Germany-85, Great Britain-72, Japan-49, Czech Republic-45,
Australia-37, Slovenia-24, Netherlands-17, Finland-15 and Austria-14.

The figures, issued by the board, indicated that more than 17,000 tourists visit ed Libya during the first half of 2009.

Libya expects an annual tourist inflow of 1.5 million people into the country be tween 2008 and 2012.

Source: africanmanager

Libya's maritime show 'LIMEX 2009' finishes

The second edition of the Libyan maritime show, "LIMEX 2009", was flagged off Tuesday at the International Fair of Tripoli, with by 75 local and international companies, specialising in industry, equipment, maintenance and maritime transport, in attendance. Organised by the Office of Ports and Maritime Transport at the Libyan General Popular Committee for Communications and Transports, the show will end 16 October.

It aims at highlighting the latest inventions and technologies in the area of maritime industry. These will be documented to enable the different institutions monitor and adapt to developments in the sector.

The programme will feature a workshop, attended by academicians, researchers and specialists.The president of the organising committee, Miloud Omran Tabiaa, said in a statement, which was made available to PANA, that companies participating in the eventwere from 12 countries -- US, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Malta, Australia, the Philippines, China, South Korea, Tunisia and Finland.

Tabiaa emphasised that the main objective of the show was to enable Libyans learn from the technologies on exhibition, notably in the maritime sector.He said, for instance, that Libya needed to learn about scanning equipment for navigation, surveillance of the coasts, communication equipment and how to detect pollution sources.According to him, this informed the organisation of the show aimed at attracting the biggest companies which specialise in those areas.

He disclosed that a notable technological display at the show was the exhibition , for the first time in the world, of a flying ship, invented in South Korea, adding that "this boat has the capacity to lift up to a height of between 5 and 100 metres and is able to carry out surveillance missions.

However, during the show a Libya jet crashed on Tuesday 6th Oct 2009, the jet was a Meg 23 which was a Russian made,, there is a video on Youtube, the video which was posted by pilot Saleh Wafi shows the last moments before the crash. It was participating in the air show and belonged to the Libyan army, killing the pilot, co-pilot and wounding several others on ground.

Source: PANA & Sahra Oil Consultancy - London

Ghanem playing hard ball over return | Oil And Gas Blog | ArabianOilandGas.com

Ghanem playing hard ball over return | Oil And Gas Blog | ArabianOilandGas.com

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Libya's NOC state oil firm names new chief

Libya's NOC on Wednesday 30th Sep 2009 announced the appointment of Ali Seghir Mohamed Saleh, until now the company's director-general, as its new boss.

"The Secretary of the General People's Committee (the Libyan government) issued a letter requiring Mr. Ali Saleh to serve as Secretary of the Management Committee of the National Oil Corporation," the NOC said in a statement posted on Wednesday on its internet site.

The company has been without a fully-fledged head since the previous holder of the post, Dr. Shokri Ghanem, left earlier this month, causing concern for foreign oil majors who viewed him as a reliable partner in an often unpredictable country.

Industry sources said they did not expect Ali Saleh's appointment would draw a line under the uncertainty for the foreign oil majors in Libya, which include BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Ali Saleh represented Libya at a Sept. 9 meeting of OPEC energy ministers in Vienna. He stood in for Ghanem, whose unexplained absence had fuelled speculation that he was no longer in charge of the NOC.

(Reuters & SOC)

Eid Mubarak

كل العام وانتم بخير بمنا سبة عيد الفطر المبارك
اعاده الله عليكم باليمن والبركة

Wishing you all Eid Mubarak

Lino's Coffee (Italian) Opens Branch in Tripoli

I read an article in Tripoli Post saying that a new Italian coffee shop was opened in Gargaresh road in Siyahiya area.

The article say that The launching ceremony was attended by several invited guests who had a chance to taste some 16 kinds of coffee in an elegant atmosphere.These include Cappuccino, Cafetino Goloso, Cafetino Sfizzioso, American Coffee, Bolero, Budinoso and many others.

At Lino's Coffee you can be served breakfast from 7 am to 12 noon. There is also the evening session which extends until 11 pm.

I would like to hear a feedback or even a review about the shop in terms of quality, price, atmosphere etc, cos I am travelling to Tripoli this weekend for Eid holiday and would like to try it.

The Report by BBC Radio 4 about Libya (Part 1)

I was a guest at the BBC Radio 4 on a programme called The Report which was broadcasted last night (Thursday 10th Sep 2009) at 8pm, the programme was presented by James Silver who examined the potential effect of the decision to release Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi on trade relations between Libya and the West.

Well, I have to say the programme made Libya look like an evil state which I did not think was encouraging.

Having said that Libya is a major producer of high quality, sweet crude oil with low sulphur that makes it easier to refine.

Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, set at 41.5 billion barrels and natural gas reserves were estimated at 54.5 trillion cubic feet.

Libyas hydrocarbon reserves potential could be substantially higher, as only 25% of the country is covered by exploration agreements.
Libya currently produces 1.7 million barrels of oil a day and is aiming to increase production to 3 million barrels a day by the end of 2015. To achieve this aim, foreign investments are needed. Libya is as well Europes single biggest oil supplier and has become one of the most vocal members of OPEC.

"The Report" by BBC Radio 4

I was a guest at the BBC Radio 4 on a programme called The Report which was broadcasted last night (Thursday 10th Sep 2009) at 8pm, the programme was presented by James Silver who examined the potential effect of the decision to release Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi on trade relations between Libya and the West.

Libya has some of the world's biggest reserves of oil and gas - might British industry benefit from Libya's desire to develop its economy?

Well, I have to say the programme made Libya look like an evil state which I did not think was encouraging.

You may listen to the programme from the link below

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mgy5h/The_Report_10_09_2009

Libya decides to invest $10 bln to develop oilfields

Libya’s General People’s Committee decided on 09/09/2009 to invest 12.1 billion dinars ($9.92 billion) to develop and maintain 24 oil wells the government described as "technically, financially and economically proven productive fields", the cash will be borrowed from local banks and local Libyan or JV companies would only take part in the scheme.

It will include main oilfields among the 24 wells involved in the development programme such as Waha-Jalou North field which would see its production capacity up by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) with a total investment of 1.6 billion dinars.

And Nafoura-Oujlaa-Khleej field to increase it to 130,000 bpd of output capacity with a total investment of 1.3 billion dinars.

NOC is tasked with carrying out a study of 13 other fields to find out whether they would be included in another development plan.

Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, set at 41.5 billion barrels and Europe’s single biggest oil supplier. Libya, an OPEC member, produces about 1.8 million bpd of oil and hoping to increase its daily production to 3 million bpd by 2015.

Source: Reuters, GPC and Sahra Oil Consultancy Ltd

Libya's Ghanem not to attend OPEC meeting

According to the latest reports coming in and especially the one coming in from Reuters in which confirms what I have written before about the resignation of Mr. Shokri Ghanem.

Reuters stated that he will not be attending the upcoming OPEC meeting in Vienna and the reason is that he submitted his resignation and still waiting for a reply from the Libya authorities.

The main reason for him to resign according to Reuters is the dispute between Libyan and Verenex (Canadian Company) in which Libya was trying to buy the company and at the same time China was too trying to buy it and it led to Libya refusing to approve the deal for China.

The question now is who is going to replace him?

Sources: Reuters and Sahra Oil Consultancy

Shokri Ghanem resigns

There were some rumours on various website circling that Shokri Ghanem the head of Libya’s NOC resigns but at the same time Libya's OPEC Governor, Ahmed Elghaber, said. "Nothing has been officially announced about his resignation, whether he wants to stay or go it's a personal decision," Elghaber told Zawya Dow Jones in a telephone interview. "He is still the top oil official and there is no replacement as of yet," he added.

Mr Ghamem Ghanem was prime minister of Libya between 2003 and 2006 and then took this post in Mar 2006 and he rapidly made many changes to the management of the NOC by replacing old top officials and bringing new ones which indeed upset many people within the corporation.

Well, they say “there is no smoke without fire”

Let’s wait and see, it’s only time will tell

A new oil descovery in Libya

NOC announced on Sunday 30/8/2009 that Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCo), which is a wholly owned by NOC reports that it has drilled the B1-NC4 New Field Wildcat well to a total depth of 10,500 feet.

The well is located in Ghadames Basin approximately 190 km south of Tripoli

A new oil discovery by Tatneft

NOC announced on 25/08/2009 that Tatneft Libyan Branch being the second party with NOC in an EPSA agreement, reports that it has drilled A1-82/04 New Field Wildcat well to a total depth of 8.605 ft. The well is in Ghadames Basin located approximately 345 Km south of Tripoli.

Ramadan Mubarak

مبارك عليكم هذا الشهر الكريم

كل عام وانتم بألف خير ، أعاد الله علينا وعليكم شهر الرحمة باليمن والبركات إن شاء الله

الفرق بين البلدان الفقيرة والغنية

للتفكير والعمل


الفرق بين البلدان الفقيرة والغنية لا يعود إلى قدمها في التاريخ

فمصر والهند يفوق عمرها 2000 عام وهي فقيرة

أما كندا واستراليا ونيوزيلندا لم تكن موجودة قبل 150 سنة بالرغم من ذلك هي دول متطورة وغنية

ولا يمكن رد فقر او غنى الدول إلى مواردها الطبيعية المتوفرة

لليابان مساحة محدودة ، 80% من اراضيها عبارة عن جبال غير صالحة للزراعة أو لتربية المواشي ،ولكنها تمثل ثاني اقوى اقتصاد في العالم .فهي عبارة عن مصنع كبير عائم ، يستورد المواد الخام لإنتاج مواد مصنعة يصدرها لكل أقطار العالم

مثال آخر هو سويسرا فبالرغم من عدم زراعتها للكاكاو إلا أنها تنتج أفضل شوكولا في العالم .ومساحتها الصغيرة لا تسمح لها بالزراعة أو بتربية المواشي لأكثر من اربعة أشهر في السنة إلا انها تنتج اهم منتجات الحليب وأغزرها في العالم.إنها بلد صغير ولكن صورة الأمن والنظام والعمل التي تعكسها ، جعلها أقوى خزنة في العالم

لم يجد المدراء من البلاد الغنية من خلال علاقتهم مع زملائهم من البلدان الفقيرة فروق تميزهم من الناحية العقلية ومن ناحية الإمكانيات عن هؤلاء في البلاد الفقيرة

اللون والعرق لا تأثير لهما . فالمهاجرون المصنفون كسالى في بلادهم الأصلية هم القوة المنتجة في البلاد الأوربية

أين يكمن الفرق إذا؟؟


يكمن الفرق في السلوك، المتشكل والمرسخ عبر سنين من التربية والثقافة

عند تحليل سلوك الناس في الدول المتقدمة نجد أن الغالبية يتبعون المبادئ التالية في حياتهم

الأخلاق كمبدأ اساسي

الاستقامة

المسؤولية

احترام القانون والنظام

احترام حقوق باقي المواطنين

حب العمل

حب الاستثمار والادخار

السعي للتفوق والأعمال الخارقة

الدقة

في البلدان الفقيرة لا يتبع هذه المبادئ سوى قلة قليلة من الناس في حياتهم اليومية


لسنا فقراء بسبب نقص في الموارد أو بسبب كون الطبيعة قاسية معنا


نحن فقراء بسبب عيب في السلوك. وبسبب عجزنا للتأقلم مع وتعلم المبادئ الأساسية التي جعلت وأدت إلى تطور المجتمعات وغناها

Verenex draws up draft claim against Libya

According to reuters (London) Verenex Energy Inc. of Canada has drawn up a claim against Libya for arbitration in its dispute with Libya over the company's proposed sale to China, the chief executive of Verenex said.
Libya has said it will pre-empt a C$10-a-share bid for Verenex, a small oil firm working in Libya, by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) [CNPET.UL]. But it has not made a formal offer for Verenex and has not given consent to the Chinese deal.
Verenex requires Libyan consent for the Chinese deal, announced in February, to go ahead. Verenex CEO Jim McFarland said that while it was still seeking that consent, filing for arbitration was among its legal options.
"We have put together a draft claim if we need to go that way, but clearly neither party wants to go the legal route on this thing and we've trying to figure out the best way to come up with an amicable solution," he said.

Libya expects $2bn FDI; eyes downstream oil industry

Libya is expecting nearly $2bn in new foreign direct investment, Libya’s Privatisation and Investment Secretary Dr. Mahumd Al-Ftise said yesterday druing ‘Libya Opportunity & Challenge III’ which was orgnised by The Middle East Association and held in London on 23th July 2009 and It has the full support of UK Trade and Investment, the Libyan British Business Council, the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, the Libyan Businessmen’s Council, the People’s Bureau of Libya in London and the British Embassy in Tripoli.

“We have over $2bn operating in FDI in Libya and we have almost $2bn in process,” Mahmud Al Ftise said on the sidelines of a Libya investment conference in London, without giving a time frame for the investment.

“This number is humble but we are really relaxed because the numbers are increasing. Libya has very big potential.”

Libya is also working on attracting investment totalling around $2.7bn in the downstream oil industry, Al Ftise added.

International investors see huge untapped potential for growth in the North African country, which was starved of investment during years of socialist policies and international sanctions.
Libya’s relations with the West took a leap forward in 2003 when it gave up banned weapons programmes and again last year when it agreed with the United States to settle compensation claims for attacks, including the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing.

Gaddafi’s foreign-educated son, Saif Al Islam, has helped push through economic reform measures, and the capital is now dotted with construction cranes building new hotels and business centres. But some investors’ enthusiasm has been tempered by red-tape, a creaking bureaucracy and uncertainty over how well protected property rights are in Libya.
Foreign investors complain of obstacles such as restrictions on visas.

Al Ftise said Libya was beginning to introduce visas for investors on arrival at Libyan airports, rather than from individual embassies.

“That is starting now, we are hoping it will come in probably after a month,” he said.
However, he said relaxation on visas was a two-way process with countries such as Britain.
“If you ease things here, we will ease things there.” Libya has privatised more than 100 companies since 2003 in industries including oil refining, tourism and real estate, of which 29 are 100 percent foreign owned.

The oil and gas sector still dominates the economy and is the destination for most foreign investment. BP and Exxon Mobil are among the international oil majors active in the sector.
Libyan banks are allowed to enter partnership agreements with foreign banks but the foreign partners are restricted to a

49 percent stake. Al Ftise said foreign investors can take 100 percent ownership in other sectors.

Abdulmagid el-Mansuri, Chairman of the Industry Ministry’s Foreign Investment Committee said that Libya was planning free trade zones for individual countries.

Source: Reuter and Sahra Oil Consultancy

ExxonMobil Commences Drilling Libya's First Deepwater Well

Exploration Company announced today that its affiliate, ExxonMobil Libya Limited, has started drilling the first deepwater exploration well in Libya. The A1-20/3 well is being drilled in Contract Area 20 (CA 20) located offshore in the Sirte Basin, northeast of the city of Misrata, in the Libyan Mediterranean Sea.
The rig, contracted from Noble Africa Limited and named the Noble Homer Ferrington, is capable of operating in water depths up to 7,200 feet (2,195 meters), and can drill to a depth of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). It is designed for high efficiency and safety, and is able to operate in many global deepwater environments.

Phil Goss, President of ExxonMobil Libya Limited, said, “ExxonMobil has a long and successful history of working in Libya, where we previously operated as Esso and Mobil.

“We are pleased to start drilling our first deepwater exploration well in Libya based on the rigorous technical work conducted by our Libyan National and expatriate scientists, and in collaboration with the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to progress our exploration program.”
ExxonMobil has an unwavering commitment to operations safety and integrity and to protecting the environment. These core values are embedded in the way we work and implemented globally through our management systems. ExxonMobil has a proven track record of operating to the highest industry standards in all aspects of our business.

Elsewhere in Libya, ExxonMobil Libya Limited has completed two 3D seismic surveys in offshore Contract Areas 20 and 21, and three 2D seismic surveys in offshore Contract Areas 44, 20, and 21.

Libya to supply oil to Ghana

Libya could soon join Nigeria to supply crude oil to Ghana. A deal has been struck between the two leaders, President Atta Mills and Mr. Qadafi of Libya on the sidelines of the 13th Ordinary Summit of the African Union which took place in the city of Sirte - Libya from 1-3 July 2009, after the government expressed seriousness about the need for assistance to access crude oil on good terms.

The Vice-President, John Mahama, had earlier travelled to Libya on the same mission.The Presidential Spokesman Mahama Ayariga told Joy News, government hoped Libya could help Ghana to meet her daily oil demand of about 65,000 barrels.“Qadafi has indicated his commitment to assist (Ghana with oil).

It is now the question of the technical team working through the details of the deal and then the two countries will seal it; afterwards we will see the fruits of the discussion.”

Source: Myjoyonline & SOCLibya

LandSecs sells an Oxford Street’s block to Libya

Britain's biggest property company, Land Securities, has sold its Portman House retail and office building on London's Oxford Street to a Libyan state-backed investor for 155 million pounds ($254.8 million).

The multi-let 146,550 square foot (13,615 square metre) building in the heart of the West End shopping district has been bought by Kinloss Property Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO).

The asset generates a total rent of 11.5 million pounds a year and is held on a long lease from The Portman Estate on a term expiring in 2152.The purchase price reflects an annual income yield of just over 7 percent.

The acquisition of Portman House comes about six months after the Libyan Investment Authority agreed to buy a 172,000 square foot office building in London's City financial district for 120 million pounds.

I personally think it’s a good opportunity for Libya’s LAFICO to invest some of its money into property in London and especially at the heart of Oxford Street.
The building (If you do not know) is located at the corner of Oxford Street and Portman Street, just in front of Next and Primark. There are several retails shops belong to the building such as New Look, Boots, River Island etc.

(Reuters & SOC Libya)

Photos taken by Tarek Alwan, on 03/07/2009

Shell sponsored a training course in the area of a rapid response to emergencies.

Shell for Exploration and Production in Libya, set up lately a training programme for a rapid response to emergencies. The training course included the bases of treating with patients of traffic accidents, medical procedures on the scene of the accident and before the arrival of the injured to the hospital and how to deal with emergencies and urgent cases of road traffic casualties.
The training course aimed at raising the efficiency of hospital staff, from Emhamed Al-Mgariyf Hospital in Ajadabia and Albraiqa Area Clinic.

The trainees successfully completed the course, which run for 9 days, and they have been granted certificates of the first level of a rapid response to the emergencies which were approved by the surgeons at the Royal University in the United Kingdom in Edinburgh city.

It is understood that the British Company E.R.S which is specialised in this type of training, carried out this course.

And this training programme was part of the company's plans to implement sustainable development programmes in Libya.


Source: NOC Libya & Translated by SOC Libya

Tripoli Grand Prix (Formula One)

The Mellaha circuit home of the Tripoli Grand Prix, used to be one of the fastest if not finest in the world. Situated on the North African coast in Libya, surrounding the Mellaha salt lake, it opened in 1925. The famous Italian aviator Marshal Italo Balbo was made Governor of the former Italian Protectorate (Libya). Acting upon a suggestion he combined the race with a state lottery. More than four million tickets were sold and some of the money was used to create a world class facility. The covered grandstand could hold 10,000 lucky spectators while the pits rivalled the best that Europe had to offer. The other famous landmark was the huge white concrete timing tower. The track was described by Dick Seaman as 'The Ascot of motor racing circuits', and its host Marshall Balbo entertained everyone royally at the palace. The teams would stay at the luxurious Hotel Uaddan which included a casino and dinner theatre. For these reasons the Grand Prix was very popular with all of the teams. Much as Monte Carlo is today.
The song by the Libyan singer Ahmed Fakroun

Husband of the year awards

I received this email from a friend of mine and I found it so funny and hilarious so I decided to share with you.

Husband of the year awards

The honorable mention goes to :

The United Kingdom











...followed closely by
The United States of America










and then ......... ....... Poland











but 3rd Place must go to
.........
Greece












it was very very close
but the runner up prize
was awarded to....
...........! .. Serbia







but the winner of the
husband/partner of the year



......is






......... Ireland


Ya gotta love the Irish.

The Irish are true romantics.look, he's even
holding her hand..

Woman has Man in it;
Mrs. has Mr . in i! t;
Female has Male in it;
She has He in it;
Madam has Adam in it;


Okay, Okay, it all makes sense now...

I never looked at it this way before:



Ever notice how all of women's problems start with MEN?


MEN tal illness
MEN strual cramps
MEN tal breakdown
MEN opause
GUY necologist
AND ..
When we have REAL trouble, it's a
HISterectomy..

Quran Explorer

A website of the whole Noble Quran is available on the net, it’s unbelievably and incredibly excellent work. It's called Quran Explorer www.quranexplorer.com/quran

It simply consists of the whole Quran, with many options for Arabic and non- Arabic speakers to read or listen to it. There are six reciters such as Sheik Abdul-Bassit and has many translations of different languages such as English, French, Spanish etc.

You can easily search any chapter/Sura, Juz ,Hizb or verses, you can too choose the script and recite, well, it has many options. The most important option to me is the search ingine which allows visitors to search any word, sura or verse.

The number of visitors of the website is 05116676 since Sep 2006. Please visit the website and pass it on to your friends so it will spread to the world.

May Allah bless you all

New law for Tourist Visa to Libya

From 1st June 2009 a tourist visa to Libya which used to be issued at Libyan airports is no longer available. The visa should be applied at the Libyan People’s Bureaus (Libyan Embassies) abroad.

Everyone is applying for a tourist visa should follow the normal procedures in which he/she/they must apply through a Libyan tourist agency and then the agency would apply for tourist permission from the Libyan Immigration Authorities and gain an approval (code).

After having done so, he/she/they must apply for a tourist visa from the Libyan Embassy and should bring the other requirements

On 11th November 2007, the Libyan authorities re-imposed a requirement for all travellers entering and exiting Libya to have an Arabic transcript of their passport’s details page printed in their passports. And further from December 2008 new requirements are imposed as follows:

1. Valid Travel Insurance.
2. Hotel Voucher.
3. Return air ticket and of copy of Itinerary.
4. Bank Statements for Period - Current Month and the last 6 months.

Libya hopes Verenex buy will not take long

Libya's plan to buy Verenex Energy Inc should not take long and it is well-placed to finance the deal, the country's most senior energy official said on Thursday.

Libya has said it will exercise its right to pre-empt a friendly C$10-a-share bid for Verenex from China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) . It has yet to make a formal offer.

"Sometimes it's very difficult to give an exact time-frame, but I hope it will not take long," Shokri Ghanem, the chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, told Reuters television.

"Libya has quite a good fund," he said. "Most of the funds are invested in cash and cash is the king now, so I don't think we'll have a big problem regarding finance for this deal."

Verenex holds promising oil assets in Libya, home to Africa's largest oil reserves which has attracted a wave of interest from oil companies after the end of international sanctions.

With the assumption of debt, the C$10 a share offer from CNPC is worth C$499 million, the companies said when it was announced on February 26. The stock was unchanged at C$8.95 as of 1827 GMT.

Ghanem has previously stated that Libya would offer the same price as the C$10-a-share agreed by CNPC. He did not specify a purchase price in his comments on Thursday.

He said Libya had chosen to buy Verenex for commercial reasons.

Source: Reuters

233 accidents in Libya resulted in 19 deaths

According to the latest figures published by the Interior Ministry in Libya, there were 233 accidents recorded in Libya from 9th to 15th May 2009.

It resulted in 19 deaths and 107 serious injuries. The Interior Ministry’s sources attributed the cause of the accidents to speeding on long and wide roads, the lack of respect for signals and the rules of traffic, and the use of mobile phones and non-use of the safety belt during driving.

Do you believe it? 19 deaths in just, in how many days, 6 or 7 days, well, it’s very hard to imagine. I am gobsmacked to read the article which was published on Oea Newspaper’s website. I seriously do not know where are the Libyans driving to, most properly to the worst destination, I mean death.

I daily either hear or watch more and more of accidents taking place in every corner of Libya, the question is what is happening in there?

Is it the roads? The cars? The drivers? The non-existence traffic laws? Some blame the roads, some blame the cars, more blame the drivers especially the younger ones. I simply do not know who to blame.

Many questions but no answers or rather no solutions

Libya Will Match China National’s Offer for Verenex

Libya will match China National Petroleum Corp.’s C$499 million ($443 million) offer for Verenex Energy Inc., as the North African nation seeks to retain a larger share of its oil wealth.

“The government is now arranging the funds to buy Verenex,” Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp., said in a telephone interview today from Tripoli.

Libya, the holder of the continent’s largest oil reserves, wants to increase its share of petroleum revenue as the budget is squeezed by oil’s slump from July’s record. National Oil is a partner of Verenex, a Canadian explorer, and a preemption clause gives Libya first right of refusal on buying the assets.

China National, the nation’s biggest oil company also known as CNPC, agreed in February to purchase Calgary-based Verenex for C$10 a share in cash.

“CNPC’s offer is final,” Ghanem said today. “It cannot increase it because it’s not like an auction; we will match it.”

Verenex, whose shares more than doubled after the company put itself up for sale in November following four straight years of losses, rose 5.6 percent to C$9 as of 10:13 a.m. in Toronto.

Ghanem said in a March 16 interview that Libya wanted to purchase Verenex for “commercial reasons,” and not to limit the access of China National to its national oil reserves. Verenex has assets in Libya that are worth “hundreds of millions” of dollars, he said at the time.

In a statement on March 18, Verenex reiterated that the proposed sale of the company to China National was subject to “certain consents” from Libya’s National Oil.

China National began exploring for oil in Libya in 2005. Verenex had agreed to pay the Chinese company a C$15 million breakup fee if the company scuttled the deal.

Source: bloomberg

NOC signs agreements with the Total, Wintershall and Statoil.

With its new policies towards renegotiating and extending old agreements, Libya’s NOC has always been attempting to increase its shares and implant new terms and conditions which will make it, increase its shares dramatically.

On Thursday 21/05/2009, the National Oil Corporation signed an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement with French Total and its partners (German Wintershall and Norwegian Statoil) in Tripoli.

The Agreement was signed by Dr.Shokri Mohamed Ghanem, NOC Chairman and Mr. Christophe de Margerie, Chairman and CEO, and chairwoman of Statoil accompanied by Representatives from Wintershall.

The event was also attended by Mr. Ali Saleh NOC's General Manager and NOC management Committee members.

In terms of oil production the new agreement means Total’s shares will be reduced to 27% and the rest belongs to NOC, whereas the old agreement was 50% each.
On the gas side Total’s shares will be 40% then decreases to 30% instead of 50% from the old agreement.

Furthermore, Total has been active in Libya for a long time and Total has a 75% working interest of the Second Party share in each block, with StatoilHydro holding the remaining 25% of Block C17 and Wintershall the remaining 25% of Block C137.
In addition to production from the offshore Al Jurf field in Block C137 and from the Mabruk field in Block C17 in the Sirte Basin, Total operates a number of other exploration licenses in Libya.

On the other hand, Wintershall has had a local exploration and production presence in Libya since 1958. The largest reservoir from which it produces is the As Sarah oil field near the Jakhira oasis in Libya, where it also operates the country’s only facility that conditions associated gas from its fields and transports the resulting products, gas and condensate, for sale on the coast. In addition, Wintershall was awarded in 2006 another exploration area in south-eastern Libya, covering over 11,000 square kilometers.

StatoilHydro on the mean time, operates three exploration licences in Libya totalling over 23,000 square kilometres.

Source: NOC, Sahra Oil Consultancy, Total, Wintershall and Statoil

Libya sees improving economy driving oil-price rise

An improving economic outlook is driving the rise in oil prices and the rally is expected to continue, Libya's top oil official said on Tuesday as crude hit a six-month high.

Oil climbed to $60.48 a barrel on Tuesday, the highest since November, tracking gains in equities in the last few months on hopes of economic recovery. The rally has come despite falling oil demand and rising inventories.

"The economic situation is improving; this is improving the prices and we think they are going to improve even more," Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, told Reuters by telephone from Tripoli.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to lower its output by 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since September to prop up oil prices. It meets to set policy on May 28 in Vienna.

So far, comments from OPEC ministers suggest the group is unlikely to reduce supply further. But prices are still lower than the $70-$75 a barrel that OPEC officials say is needed to keep up industry investment.

OPEC needs to improve its compliance with agreed production levels, but it is too early to tell if the group needed to cut supply further at the meeting, Ghanem said.

"All options are open, but still we have to have a better grasp of the market behaviour," he said.

Some estimates of OPEC production, including the group's own monthly report, show it raised oil supply slightly in April, a sign that rising prices could have prompted members to relax adherence to supply curbs.

Source: Reuters

Libyan PM opens “Libya Build Expo”

Dr. Baghdadi Mahmudi, “the Libyan General Secretaries of the General People's Committee” prime minster opens on Monday 18th May 2009, the Libya Build Expo which is considered as the largest International exhibition held in Libya, specialised in Building and Construction sector. It Exhibits latest technology in building construction including all of its Supporting Industries. Participants will meet with leading private sector experts.

According to Secretaries of the General People's Committee’s website, there are more than 540 local, regional and international companies participating in this event from 33 countries.

The opening was also attended by several Libyan ministers and head of foreign diplomats working in Libya.

The Exhibition is taking place at Tripoli International Fair ans will run from 18th to 21st of May 2009.

Source: Sahra Oil Consultancy & Secretaries of the General People's Committee

Slow progress sows doubts on Libyan oil prospects

* Foreign firms re-assess prospects
* Initial results disappoint
* Libya focuses on renegotiating old contracts


Disappointment at the slow pace of oil finds in post-sanctions Libya is sowing doubt over output targets and leading some foreign oil firms to re-assess their prospects in the country.

Libya was off limits for most foreign oil firms for decades and they accepted some of the industry's tightest exploration and production sharing deals when they were at last able to access Africa's most promising oil acreage.
That puts them under heavy pressure to deliver.

It is still early days for engineers scouring the desert country and its Mediterranean sea bed for oil and gas.

Super-majors such as BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp, which nurture the biggest ambitions for Libya, are still at the stage of seismic testing.
BP ended a 30-year absence from Libya in 2007 when it signed its biggest exploration commitment through a bilateral deal. It will spend at least $900 million to search the onshore Ghadames area and offshore Sirte basin with 17 exploration wells.
Yet analysts said they would have expected a higher rate of oil and gas discoveries in Libya so far.

"Overall, initial exploration results have been disappointing compared to the level of expectations only a few years ago," said Craig McMahon of Wood Mackenzie.
Verenex of Canada is the only winner of post-sanctions licences under Libya's EPSA-IV tender mechanism to have made sizeable finds, prompting a battle for ownership of the company between Libya and China National Petroleum Corp.
More recent discoveries by Hess, Repsol and RWE are seen by industry experts as promising.

"But there's no doubt that things are moving more slowly than some of the companies hoped," said Ben Cahill, Petroleum Risk Manager at consultants PFC Energy. "Libya's production targets are in jeopardy and it won't be able to meet them without shifting its emphasis in the next two years."
DELAYS

Libya's government is still aiming for oil production of 3 million barrels a day by 2012, up from 2 million this year, and sees a doubling of gas production by 2012 or 2013 from the current rate of 3.5 billion cubic feet (99.1 million cubic metres) per day.

A rise in the number of foreign firms in Libya has tested the ability of its National Oil Corporation (NOC) to approve contracts and development plans and led to delays, Cahill said.

Many that won acreage in post-sanctions tenders have not yet finalised those deals and NOC has been preoccupied by the renegotiation of older contracts to bring them in line with Libya's new fiscal terms.

Occidental was among the most successful bidders in a 2005 exploration and production licensing round but has ended exploration drilling to focus on existing fields, according to industry experts.

"Right now Libya is what it is," Occidental Chief Executive Ray Irani told analysts in late April. "Things move slower than we expected and studies continue to take place, but I don't expect any meaningful increases there for at least another 12 months."

Occidental reported first-quarter net production from Libya of 8,000 barrels per day, down from 22,000 bpd a year earlier.
That was the same as in the fourth quarter, when company officials talked of a reduction of 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Libya from a year earlier due to new contract terms.

TIGHTER TERMS
Analysts say Libya could further tighten terms for foreign oil firms in the next two years as deals struck in competitive tenders since the end of sanctions come up for renegotiation.

Lower prices have slashed windfall energy income and given ammunition to establishment conservatives who think foreigners exploiting Libya's precious resources are having it too easy.
That could further discourage oil firms disappointed at the rate of new finds and dampen exploration activity.
"Companies exploring under EPSA-IV haven't made the big finds they were hoping for and are thinking of revising their strategy," said Jon Marks, editorial director of industry newsletter Africa Energy.

There is big potential for output increases in the short term as new technology boosts the performance of ageing wells, analysts say.

There are also many near-field areas containing patchworks of smaller reserves that are close to transport infrastructure and could be developed relatively quickly.
Now a global drop in equipment and service costs may spur some licence holders in Libya to move ahead with their work.

"However, whether NOC will be in a position to approve and critically fund these work plans remains to be seen," said McMahon of Wood Mackenzie.

Source: Reuters

Norway drops probe into Hydro's Libya dealings

Norwegian economic crime unit Oekokrim has dropped an investigation into suspect consultancy payments made by Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL) in Libya, the Norwegian aluminium producer said on Friday.

The Libya scandal forced Norsk Hydro's former chief executive, Eivind Reiten, to resign from the post of StatoilHydro (STL.OL) chairman in 2007, after Norsk Hydro sold its oil and gas activities to Norwegian energy group Statoil.

"This has been a challenging case both for the company and for the individuals involved, and we are pleased that Oekokrim has arrived at this conclusion," Norsk Hydro Chairman Terje Vareberg said in a statement.

The suspect deals go back to 2000-2001, before Reiten took over as CEO but when he was a member of Hydro's group executive management. The case involves the oil and gas operations that Statoil acquired from Norsk Hydro to create StatoilHydro.

Source: Reuters