BP to Drill Off Libya, Denies Claims of Helping Lockerbie Bomber Release

BP is set to start deepwater drilling off Libya despite environmental concerns after the Gulf of Mexico spill.
BP to Drill Off Libya, Denies Claims of Helping Lockerbie Bomber Release
7/26/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/98606636.jpg" alt="Fire boats battling the fire on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on the fatal day of April 21, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Concerns and worries are rising in the public about BP's plan to drill off Libya.(Photo by U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)" title="Fire boats battling the fire on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on the fatal day of April 21, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Concerns and worries are rising in the public about BP's plan to drill off Libya.(Photo by U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1817012"/></a>
Fire boats battling the fire on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on the fatal day of April 21, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Concerns and worries are rising in the public about BP's plan to drill off Libya.(Photo by U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)
BP is set to start deepwater drilling off Libya despite environmental concerns after the Gulf of Mexico spill and accusations that permission was tied to the recent release of the Lockerbie bomber.

The new drill site, about a mile below sea level in the Gulf of Sirte, will be over 600 feet deeper than the well in the Gulf of Mexico well that exploded on April 20. The explosion killed 11 workers and gushed oil into the ocean for 85 days straight, causing massive environmental damage.

The London-based oil giant has denied that it was in any way involved in Scotland’s release last year of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi. Al-Megrahi, an alleged former Libyan intelligence officer, was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people on board the and on the ground in Lockerbie Scottland. He was recently released back to his home in Libya on compassionate grounds as he is dying of prostate cancer.

The drill plans, according to the Financial Times, date back to 2007, when BP acquired gas and oil fields off Libya for $900 million.