Libya Business Update

Monitoring the latest news

29th May 2008

Dear Reader,

I am pleased to attach the latest monthly Libyan Business Review. The Libyan Business Review provides a concise monthly review of major developments so that you are able to identify potential opportunities.

In May Libya and the UAE should be singed a pact for the Libyan-Emirati Holding Company. The new company will focus on developing various projects covering real estate, tourism, oil and gas and energy. Libya wants to increase its oil production capacity to 3 million barrel a day by 2013. A final exploration accord was signed with Sonatrach, Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation in May 2008.

On 19 May MEC international Ltd launched the latest in our series of annual reports on business opportunities in Libya, regarded as one of the most useful guides to the political and practical problems of doing business there. More information is at: www.meconsult.co.uk/

If you would like to learn more about this newsletter or forthcoming events, or perhaps would like to suggest an event or article for inclusion in the next edition, please do not hesitate to contact me at admin@meconsult.co.uk

               Kind regards,

Anke Seger, Editor.

                                                                                         MEC International Ltd.
                                                                                        132-135 Sloane Street
                                                                              Granville House, London SW1X 9A

Tel: 020 7591 4816, Fax: 020 7591 4801

Email: inquiries@meconsult.co.uk  

www.meconsult.co.uk

AECOM, Rice, UH to help modernize Libya’s housing, infrastructure.

(May 28, 2008)

Mayor Bill White, Rice University, the University of Houston and AECOM Technology Corp. today announced a collaborative program to train Libyan engineers to build and maintain homes, roads and water systems in their homeland.

The initiative is part of a $50 billion-plus capital-improvement program managed by AECOM and the Libyan Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) to modernize urban housing and water systems for major Libyan cities. The project is being led from AECOM’s Houston and Tripoli offices.

Read more...

NBAD receives approval to open representative office in Libya

(May 27, 2008)

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE’s biggest lender, on Tuesday said it has received the approval of the Central Bank of Libya to open a representative office there.

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Hungary’s MOL inks deal with Libya, eyes Mid East

(May 27, 2008)

Hungarian oil and gas firm MOL MOLB.BU on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with the Libyan Investment Agency to invest in third countries. A company official said the firm was keen to take advantage of a desire among regional national oil companies (NOC) to expand abroad.

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Libya aims to boost oil production

(May 26, 2008)

Libya to boost oil output to two million barrels per day in 2008, three million bpd in 2012.
Libya plans to boost its oil production to two million barrels per day this year and is targeting three million bpd in 2012, the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman said on Monday.

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Libya Signs Final Exploration Accord With Sonatrach, Oil India

(May 26, 2008)

Libya, holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, said it signed a final agreement granting exploration and production rights to Algeria’s state oil company Sonatrach, Indian Oil Corp. and Oil India Ltd.

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ONGC Videsh to relinquish block in Libya

(May 25, 2008)

Feeling the prospects are not very attractive commercially, the Indian ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and its Turkish partner Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company (TPOC) plan to relinquish their onshore exploration block in Ghadames basin in favor of the National Oil Corporation.

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Libya, Morocco Plan $1 bln Fertiliser Venture
(May 25, 2008)

Libyan’s investment arm in Africa, Libya-Africa Investment Portfolio, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Morocco’s Office Cherifien de Phosphate (OCP) for the Moroccan company to build three fertiliser plants worth $1.0 billion.

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Pact signed for Libyan-Emirati firm

(May 21, 2008)

Abu Dhabi: An agreement was signed on Tuesday to establish the Libyan-Emirati Holding Company (LEHC) at a total capital of $600 million (Dh2.2 billion).

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Libya Seeks `Strategic Partner’ for Tamoil, Shokri Ghanem Says

(May 21, 2008)

The Libyan government is seeking a ``strategic partner’’ for Tamoil SA, its overseas oil refining and distribution company, after an attempt to sell the business to Colony Capital LLC failed.

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Malta-Libya oil exploration agreement in the pipeline

(May 21, 2008)

A long-sought agreement on oil exploration in the waters between Malta and Libya appears to be in the pipeline, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told Parliament yesterday evening in reply to a parliamentary question from opposition MP Noel Farrugia.

Discussions with Malta’s southern neighbour, Dr Borg said, by means of a so-called ‘Mixed Commission’ were ongoing and have now moved on from general matters to the nitty-gritty of hammering out the oil exploration issue, possibly in terms of joint ventures between the countries.

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Libya’s Al-Jurf Field May Resume Output in Two Months (Update2)

(May 19, 2008)

Libya’s al-Jurf oilfield, where 45,000 barrels a day of production have been halted for almost a month, may need two more months to resume output because well repairs are more difficult than expected, Libya’s top oil official said.

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Libya’s Central Bank Launches Repurchaseþ þAgreements to Reform Banking ýSystem
(May 17, 2008)

Libya’s Central Bank on Tuesday launched repurchase agreements for the first time as ýpart of reforming the country’s banking system, a bank official said.

þ"þThe Central Bank reached accords today with the country’s main banks to launch ýrepurchase agreements. Such agreements did not exist in the banking system before ýand they are new. The repurchases rate are fixed at 4.25 percent for now," Ali ýRamadane Chnebech, the bank’s research department chief, told Reuters

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Kuwait’s Investors, Libya to set up $2 bln firm

(May 11, 2008)

Kuwait’s Investors Holding (INVK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to set up a $2 billion investment firm with the Libyan government and offer half the new company to foreign investors, the company said on Sunday.

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Verenex Energy Beefs Up Libyan Operations

(May 8, 2008)

Verenex Energy currently has two drilling rigs under long-term contract, which enables the spudding of up to 11 to 12 wells during 2008. Good progress is being made in executing this program with four wells spudded over the January to April 2008 period

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Dollar Thrifty Car Rental Opens Branch in Tripoli
(May 5, 2008)

Enhancing its role as the number one car rental organization in the Middle East and North Africa region, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, parent company of the Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands, today announced its partnership with Aldawlia Rent a Car and its strategy to expand operations in Libya, with a new Thrifty Car Rental office opening this year at Tripoli International Airport.

The alliance will increase Thrifty’s services in the region, enabling the company to cater to North Africa’s growing tourism sector.

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Germany’s RWE makes new oil find in Libya

(May 5, 2008)

German utility group RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) has made a new oil discovery in the Libyan Sirte Basin, the third since April last year, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Monday.

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Libya Telecom Technology Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Build Libya’s First WiMAX Rev-e Network

(May 5, 2008)

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been awarded a contract by LTT (Libya Telecom and Technology), the national Internet Service Provider in Libya, to deploy the first commercial WIMAX network based on the 802.16e-2005 WiMAX standard, in Libya. LTT plans to launch the commercial service on the network in September 2008.

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Tamoil, Essar may Split Shares in Refinery

(May 4, 2008)

Treasury is pushing for a middle ground in resolving a protracted row over the future ownership of the Kenya National Petroleum Refineries, pitting Essar Oil and Gas of India and Libya’s Tamoil Africa Holdings.

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Niger, Libya sign investment deals, boost ties

(May 3, 2008)

Libya will invest 100 million euros ($155 million) to build a trans-Saharan highway in Niger under accords signed between the neighbours, whose ties had been strained by a Tuareg revolt, officials said on Saturday.

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