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

the craziest car accident in Libya

This is really the craziest accident I have ever seen in Libya, it shows how driving in Libya is becoming increasingly dangerous.
I do not know what happened to the taxi driver and if he had a passenger sitting next to him. God knows what went wrong and what might happen to him.
I presume he was speeding as Libyans usually do especially younger one. Let’s hope is not in a serious condition

Libya fund eyeing stake in Italy's Enel - WSJ

Libya's sovereign wealth fund may take a stake in Italian power company Enel SpA (ENEI.MI) as part of the utility's planned capital hike, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

In an interview, Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said the Libyan Investment Authority had expressed interest in taking a minority stake.

The fund could either buy shares in the open market or subscribe to an 8 billion euro ($10.9 billion) capital increase that Enel is planning in order to cut its debt, the newspaper quoted Conti as saying.

"We would welcome their ideas. It is premature to say how much and if and when they would participate," he said.

Hafed Gaddur, Libya's ambassador to Italy, told the newspaper Conti had travelled to Libya a week ago to make a presentation to the head of the fund.

"We are evaluating it. No decision has been made," he was quoted as saying. ($1=.7336 Euro)

Source: MILAN, May 13 (Reuters)