BP, which nearly one month ago plugged the blowout on its oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, has announced that it will delay plans to drill offshore in Libya.
The company had been insisting last month, that drilling would begin in “a few weeks.”
Spokesman David Nicholas now says that the company is now expecting to drill later this year.
“We’re working through the detailed planning,” he said on Wednesday, according to Associated Press.
The investigation into the causes of the Gulf spill, which badly damaged the company’s international reputation, is expected to conclude later this month.
The results are likely to form the direction of the company’s future operations elsewhere in the world. Industry sources believe that the company may be waiting for those conclusions before embarking on a new exploration.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been investigating claims that the company lobbied the Scottish government for the release of al-Megrahi in return for Libyan oil deals.
Al-Megrahi, was the only man to be convicted of the bombing of an American flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 that killed 259 people.
Al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds on the basis that his prostate cancer would give him only three months to live.
One year on, al-Megrahi is believed to be living comfortably in Tripoli, Libya.
Key witnesses such as Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and former British Justice Secretary Jack Straw have been sought by the Senate committee to give evidence.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond was reported as saying that there was “no way on earth” they would formally testify.
Scottish officials deny that they were lobbied by BP over al-Megrahi’s release. The company has acknowledged that it urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but denied that al-Megrahi’s case was mentioned.
On Wednesday, requests for his medical notes by U.S. senators was declined by Salmond.
In 2007, BP signed a $900-million exploration and production deal with Libya’s state-owned National Oil Company. The deal marked the first investment in the country by BP since 1971.
The company had been insisting last month, that drilling would begin in “a few weeks.”
Spokesman David Nicholas now says that the company is now expecting to drill later this year.
“We’re working through the detailed planning,” he said on Wednesday, according to Associated Press.
The investigation into the causes of the Gulf spill, which badly damaged the company’s international reputation, is expected to conclude later this month.
The results are likely to form the direction of the company’s future operations elsewhere in the world. Industry sources believe that the company may be waiting for those conclusions before embarking on a new exploration.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been investigating claims that the company lobbied the Scottish government for the release of al-Megrahi in return for Libyan oil deals.
Al-Megrahi, was the only man to be convicted of the bombing of an American flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 that killed 259 people.
Al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds on the basis that his prostate cancer would give him only three months to live.
One year on, al-Megrahi is believed to be living comfortably in Tripoli, Libya.
Key witnesses such as Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and former British Justice Secretary Jack Straw have been sought by the Senate committee to give evidence.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond was reported as saying that there was “no way on earth” they would formally testify.
Scottish officials deny that they were lobbied by BP over al-Megrahi’s release. The company has acknowledged that it urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but denied that al-Megrahi’s case was mentioned.
On Wednesday, requests for his medical notes by U.S. senators was declined by Salmond.
In 2007, BP signed a $900-million exploration and production deal with Libya’s state-owned National Oil Company. The deal marked the first investment in the country by BP since 1971.
