Libya wants to buy Canadian oil firm assets Tripoli (AFP) March 19, 2009 Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation announced plans on Thursday to buy up the assets of Canadian oil company Verenex in Libya, a bid that would block similar moves by China. "We are going to exercise our pre-emptive right to buy Verenex" assets in the north African state, NOC chairman Shukri Ghanem told AFP by telephone from Vienna where he was attending an international energy conference. Ghanem said however that Libya had not decided yet on the price for the assets, which include interests in fields in the Ghadamese basin southwest of Tripoli. Verenex Energy Inc said it was "unable to confirm or deny" Ghanem's remarks. "As previously announced, the proposed sale of Verenex is subject to certain consents from the Libyan National Oil Corporation," it said in a statement on its website. "Verenex has requested such consents from the NOC but no formal decision has yet been communicated to the company," it added. The Calgary-based company announced last month that China National Petroleum Corp had agreed to buy Verenex, including its Libyan oil assets, in a deal worth 400 million dollars. But the Chinese offer still had to be approved by the Libyan National Oil Corp and Verenex shareholders owning at least two thirds of the outstanding shares, Verenex said at the time. Verenex has made 10 oil and gas discoveries in Libya since drilling began in in September 2006 in the Ghadames basin. OPEC member Libya is the third oil producer in Africa after Nigeria and Angola, pumping nearly two million barrels of crude oil per day and hopes to increase production to three million bpd by 2013. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Chavez hails oil deals with Russia and China Caracas (AFP) March 17, 2009 President Hugo Chavez Tuesday hailed a six-billion-dollar drilling deal with Russia in Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco basin, and a refinery and oil-export deal with China, as Venezuela's economy struggles with cheap oil prices. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |