British energy giant BP said Wednesday it will begin deep-water exploration drilling off the Libyan coast some time before the end of this year. In late July, the company had said it would start drilling off the Libyan coast in a few weeks amid controversy over its 2007 deal with Tripoli and the oil firm's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. "We are working on the last details and we are talking now about the second half of the year," a BP spokesman said. The 2007 accord allows BP to drill five wells in the Gulf of Sirte at depths of around 1,700 metres (5,500 feet), slightly deeper than the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well which BP has only just managed to seal.
In late July, the company had said it would start drilling off the Libyan coast in a few weeks amid controversy over its 2007 deal with Tripoli and the oil firm's role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
"We are working on the last details and we are talking now about the second half of the year," a BP spokesman said.
The 2007 accord allows BP to drill five wells in the Gulf of Sirte at depths of around 1,700 metres (5,500 feet), slightly deeper than the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well which BP has only just managed to seal.
French oil giant Total said on Wednesday it will begin work on four deep-water fields off Angola even as the IEA warned that uncertainty after the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill could put such projects at risk. Total said it will begin work on the Cravo, Liro, Orquidea and Violetta fields about 140 kilometres (90 miles) from the Angolan capital Luanda in water depths of between 1,000 and 1,400 metres (3,250 and 4,550 feet). The fields contain about 500 million barrels of oil, with production slated for 2014, Total said. They are grouped in an offshore bloc being developed by Total along with Norway's Statoil, Esso and British energy giant BP, which has just managed to seal the gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico after spending about six billion dollars to contain the worst US environmental disaster.
Total said it will begin work on the Cravo, Liro, Orquidea and Violetta fields about 140 kilometres (90 miles) from the Angolan capital Luanda in water depths of between 1,000 and 1,400 metres (3,250 and 4,550 feet).
The fields contain about 500 million barrels of oil, with production slated for 2014, Total said.
They are grouped in an offshore bloc being developed by Total along with Norway's Statoil, Esso and British energy giant BP, which has just managed to seal the gushing well in the Gulf of Mexico after spending about six billion dollars to contain the worst US environmental disaster.
