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| Africa: North | |
| Libya invites US oil companies back | |
| 2003-12-23 | |
| This oughta light up Indymedia like a rocket... Libya says it would welcome back US oil companies, which are eager to return to their abandoned operations, should Washington lift economic sanctions after Libya pledged on Friday to abandon weapons of mass destruction. "The US has oil advantages in Libya," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abderrhmane Chalgam told reporters. "We will try to convince US oil companies to return. We currently produce 1.5 million barrels per day and we aim to increase the oil output to 3 million bpd in 2020," Mr Chalgam said. The major US oil firms were once responsible for producing about 1 million barrels per day of Libya's crude. In Washington, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said positive developments in Libya could eventually lead the US to lift economic sanctions that bar US companies from doing business in the oil-rich country. "As Libya's policy changes, Libya's behaviour changes, Libya's circumstances change, we'll be willing to look at those things," Mr Boucher said. Five US oil firms were active in Libya before sanctions on investment in 1986, including Marathon Oil, Amerada Hess, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and Grace Petroleum. "We've made no secret that we would be very interested in returning to Libya if permitted," said Larry Meriage, spokesman for Occidental. "It was our Libyan discoveries that launched Occidental as a major player in the international arena. It also put Libya on the map as a major world oil producer."
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #15 My father was station at Wheelus 68-70' and he once told me a story about a visit by Gadaffy, which led my to find the following article about our first black general. This man Col. Chappie James, was a stud. http://www.moaa.org/magazine/February2001/feature_chappie.asp Few Americans recall the day that James faced down Gadhafi. The confrontation occurred when Gadhafi ordered a column of Libyan half-tracks onto Wheelus. The half-tracks blew past the gate guards and through the housing area at top speed. When James was notified of the intrusion, he came immediately to the front gate and lowered the barrier to prevent more vehicles from entering. Standing a few yards beyond the barrier was Gadhafi with his hand resting on the butt of his pistol. James glared at him, his own .45 ready at his side. âMove your hand away from that gun,â James ordered. Much to everyoneâs surprise, Gadhafi complied â and probably prevented an early end to his dictatorship. As James later recalled, âIf he had pulled that gun, it never would have cleared his holster.â As if to punctuate the impression James had made, the Libyan Army didnât send any more half-tracks after that incident. |
| Posted by: Rick 2003-12-23 5:30:57 PM |
| #14 I would be hesitant to send Americans into Libya at this point. If he is not reformed, they become real or impled hostages as soon as they set foot on Libyan sand. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-23 4:50:07 PM |
| #13 ... the French may have been publically denouncing and impeding the war effort, but they let our CRAF planes go through. That just makes them even more two-faced and duplicitious. Probably passed every bit of operational and electronic intel from the flights right to the It must be tough on turds like Gaddaphi(? just guessing about the weekly spelling change) when your main super-power sponsor goes tits-up. Plenty of reasons for Colonel Mo to try to cut a deal while he still enjoys the trappings. He really misses his soviet big brother these days, I bet. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-23 2:08:51 PM |
| #12 Paul, hon, the French are above all...whores. I imagine that our American dollars will spend as well there as they will in Tripoli. |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2003-12-23 1:03:32 PM |
| #11 4thInfVet---concerning France. I remember the long circuitous route that the F-111s had to take and the many refuelings they had to do as part of the route around France. However, a friend of mine that flew troops to Kuwait just before the war made multiple flights from Amsterdam and over French airspace. So the French may have been publically denouncing and impeding the war effort, but they let our CRAF planes go through. Hedging their bets? I cannot figure it out. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-23 1:01:13 PM |
#10 OP: I believe it was the French Foreign Legion that handled the Chad / Libya war. The link tells the tale. Chad is another of the French colonies in all but name.A consortium led by two US companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad. Oil production is scheduled to come on stream in late 2003.CIA Factbook |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-12-23 12:39:24 PM |
| #9 "Wheelus"? Boy, how old are you Fred? Careful, Jack! I went into Wheelus in 1966, passing through, and was at Alconbury in 1986 when the Lakenheath boys did a number on it (helped out with the Bomb Damaga Assessment). Some of us "old farts" have looooooonnnnnnggg memories... 8^) I'm not surprised that Chad has substantial oil reserves. The entire Sahara was a lush forest during the late Cambrian through the mid-Jurasic, and the area's been relatively stable (geologically, anyway) since then. That's the source of all the oil in Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and most of the Middle East. From what I remember of my Paleogeography class, the extent of oil-bearing formations should include about 2/3 of upper Africa, down as far as the upper Congo basin. Chad and Libya had a nasty spat over the Aozou region in the late 1970's through the mid-1980's, with the Chadians giving QaDaffy more than he could handle. Oil may have been one of several things that spat was about. Surprisingly, there are ALSO vast coal reserves in the African Sahara. The cost of exporting it is about as much as you could make, but it's there for the future. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-12-23 12:23:23 PM |
| #8 If they reopen Wheelus, are bases in Europe then becom COMPLETLY useless (save England). |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-12-23 10:46:32 AM |
| #7 "Wheelus"? Boy, how old are you Fred? They closed it in 70. Then we bombed it in 86 when we gave them the acronym L.I.B.Y.A. [Lakenheath is bombing your ass]. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2003-12-23 8:17:58 AM |
| #6 Gudaffi wants to see Disney Land before he shuffles off. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-23 7:47:35 AM |
| #5 4IV,I have been pissed at France since then,and they have done nothing to change my opinion since that day. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-12-23 7:01:45 AM |
| #4 The only thing worse than being an egomaniac, is being an egomaniac that nobody pays attention to. Godawful is lonely. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2003-12-23 2:48:12 AM |
| #3 I wasn't aware that Chad had such a significant amount of oil. I'm sure this played a factor, but the most important factor for Linya discarding WMD I think was the simple fact that it wasn't profitable. You can't eat or drink WMD's, selling them is a invitation to our forces to implement a regime change, and using thme against his neighbors isn't viable because he doesn't have the Tech too deploy Chem or Bio accurately. And the Nukes would make the area un-inhabitable for years. Gudaffi realized the road to riches and prestige is through money, not conquest. He's just trying to snatch it up before Chad or Iraq does. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-12-23 2:43:25 AM |
| #2 ...hold it in the O-club at Wheelus Darn officers, always trying to stick it to the enlisted. Anyway, Khaddafi-Qaddafi-Gadhafi-WHATEVER appears to have finally figured 'it' out: quit whining and seething, let in some sunlight, and try to embarass Israel re: their (alleged) WMDs. It's either incredibly canny or incredibly cynical, but either way it's a positive thing (assuming he follows through and the F-111s don't have to make a return trip). ps. remember, back in the day the french gave us the finger about using their airspace- haven't been an 'ally' since at least then, realistically since 5 seconds after WWII ended |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-23 2:41:49 AM |
| #1 Libya must be concerned about those oil discoveries in Chad down south. A smart move on Libya's part if their conversion is genuine. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-12-23 1:52:31 AM |