24/7/2010
BP to start drilling for oil off Libya within weeks

LONDON (AFP) - BP will start drilling off the Libyan coast in a few weeks, it said Saturday, despite lingering questions over the deal which led to the exploration and the oil firm's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"We expect to begin the first well in the next few weeks," spokesman David Nicholas told AFP, adding that the 2007 deal signed with Libya to explore the Gulf of Sirte included commitments to drill five wells. Although he could not give a detailed timeframe, he said: "These wells can take six months or more to drill."

The future of deep-sea drilling has come under scrutiny following an explosion in April on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11 workers. It sank, causing a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst environmental disaster in United States history, sparking a furious reaction against BP in the US.

BP's Libyan well, at about 5,700 feet under water, is deeper than the well beneath the Deepwater Horizon, but Nicholas said the company took the risks involved "very seriously". He added: "If there are any lessons obviously that come out of the investigation into what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, we will apply those to our drillings across the world."

The imminent drilling was made possible by an agreement which British-based BP signed with Libya in 2007 worth at least 900 million dollars (700 million euros), then the firm's biggest-ever deal of its kind.

12/5/2010
Plane crash in Libya kills more than 100

BBC News - A passenger plane has crashed in Libya, killing more than 100 people on board, officials in the capital Tripoli say.

The Airbus A330 crashed on landing at Tripoli airport after a flight from Johannesburg, Afriqiyah Airways said. Sixty-one Dutch nationals were among those killed, the Dutch tourism board said. A Dutch child was the sole known survivor, the Libyans say. Officials say people from at least 10 countries were on the flight. The 11 crew were said to be Libyan.

Airports Company South Africa revealed details of passengers' connecting flights Libyan Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan confirmed that victims included nationals from the Netherlands, Libya, Britain, Germany, Finland, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, South Africa and France, although he had no exact numbers.

The British Foreign Office confirmed that at least one British national was on board. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin later confirmed that an Irish woman was among the dead. Afriqiyah Airways said there were two German victims, one each from the Philippines and Zimbabwe, and at least 13 Libyans.

Nicky Knapp, a spokeswoman for Airports Company South Africa, said seven passengers were booked to connect to London Gatwick Airport, 32 to Brussels, 42 to Dusseldorf in Germany, and one to Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

10/2/2010
Libyan government plans 32% budget spending increase

TRIPOLI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Libya plans to increase budget spending by 32 percent to a record amount in 2010, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Libya's government is preparing to issue a budget law for this year setting out 58 billion dinars ($46.6 billion) in expenditure, spokesman Mohamed Bayou told Reuters. Last year's budget spending was 44 billion dinars.

He did not give a reason for the increase but said the government continued to subsidise some consumer goods and that it was committed to continuing investment in infrastructure and public services.

"The budget for this year will be about 58 billion Libyan dinars," Bayou said after a session of the General People's Committee, as the Libyan government is known. "This is the biggest budget."

He also said the government would be spending 82 billion dinars ($65.86 billion) of budget funds over the next three years on development and infrastructure.

Libya, which is home to Africa's largest proven oil reserves, built up a substantial cash pile during several years of high oil prices.