West begins scramble for Libya’s oil wealth

Before the rebellion broke out in February,Libya exported 1.3 million barrels of oil a day. While that is less than 2 per cent of world supplies,only a few other countries can supply equivalent grades of the sweet crude oil that many refineries around the world depend on.

Western nations — especially the NATO countries that provided crucial air support to the rebels — want to make sure their companies are in prime position to pump the Libyan crude. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy said on state television on Monday that the Italian oil company Eni “will have a No 1 role in the future” in the North African country. Frattini even reported that Eni technicians were already on their way to eastern Libya to restart production. (Eni quickly denied that statement.)

Libyan production has been largely shut down during the long conflict between rebel forces and troops loyal to Libya’s leader,Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Eni,with BP of Britain,Total of France,Repsol YPF of Spain and OMV of Austria,were all big producers in Libya before the fighting broke out,and they stand to gain the most once the conflict ends. US companies like Hess,ConocoPhillips and Marathon also made deals with the Gaddafi regime.

But it is unclear whether a rebel government would honour the contracts struck by the Gaddafi regime or what approach it would take in negotiating new production-sharing agreements with companies willing to invest in established oil fields and explore for new ones.

Even before taking power,the rebels suggested that they would remember their friends and foes and negotiate deals accordingly. “We don’t have a problem with Western countries like Italians,French and UK companies,” Abdeljalil Mayouf,a spokesman for the Libyan rebel oil company Agoco,was quoted by Reuters as saying. “But we may have some political issues with Russia,China and Brazil.”

Russia,China and Brazil did not back strong sanctions on the Gaddafi regime,and they generally supported a negotiated end to the uprising. All three countries have large oil companies that are seeking deals in Africa.

Desperate hunt to find Gaddafi

Gaddafi location unknown.

Efforts being used to find him:

RAF’s Awacs airborne radars are being used to track all civilian aircraft leaving Tripoli and elsewhere,in case Gaddafi tries to flee by air,The Telegraph reported.

Rivet Joint spy aircraft have been deployed by the US. It will monitor all communications by mobile or satellite phone.

British Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft’s Astor radar will be used to track vehicle convoys.

In a meeting of the National Security Council,chaired by British PM David Cameron,ministers asked military to “utilise all ISTAR (Intelligence Surveillance,Target Acquisition,and Reconnaissance) assets” to find Gaddafi. pti