LIBYA COMMERCIAL ROUND-UP FOR DECEMBER 2008 AND JANUARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TRIPOLI 000151

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG,
COMMERCE FOR NATE MASON,
ENERGY FOR GINA ERIKSON,
STATE PASS USTR (BURKHEAD) AND USAID (MCCLOUD)
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/ONE (NATHAN MASON),ADVOCACY CTR (REITZA),AND
CLDP (TEJTEL AND MCMANUS)
CASABLANCA FOR FCS (ORTIZ)
AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB (BHALLA)
CAIRO FOR FINANCIAL ATTACHE (SEVERENS)
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD EINV EIND EPET ENRG PGOV LY
SUBJECT: LIBYA COMMERCIAL ROUND-UP FOR DECEMBER 2008 AND JANUARY
2009

ENERGY


1. (U) State-Owned Zwara Oil Refinery Company Has Appointed HSBC
as Financial Adviser: Zwara Oil Refinery Company (Zorco) plans
to develop a 200,000 barrels-a-day crude oil refinery. The
development of the refinery will be tender on a
build-own-operate basis. The refinery is the first major
government sponsored project in the country to seek commercial
finance. Earlier in 2008 bankers pulled out of talks on
financing the project and Nigeria's Africa Finance Corporation
and Citadel Capital of Egypt both decided against investing in
the plant. The project is estimated to cost about $4 billion
U.S. dollars and should be completed in 2014.[MEED, 12/4/2008]


2. (U) Chinese CNPC to Bid for Verenex Asset in Libya: China
National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is bidding for Canadian
energy firm Verenex Energy in a transaction valued at as much as
$300 million; adding a successful bid would broaden CNPC's
assets in Africa. Indonesia's state oil firm, Pertamina, had
announced its interest to participate in the Libyan oil area of
the Canadian energy company Verenex. [Reuters, 12/15/2008]


3. (U) AGOCO Announces Oil Discovery: The National Oil
Corporation (NOC) announced that the state-owned oil company
Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) made an oil discovery in the
Ghadames Basin. The well is located approximately 500 kilometers
south of Tripoli. The initial production testing established an
oil rate of 5,000 barrels per day, and a gas rate of 150 million
standard cubic feet per day. [HYPERLINK
"http://en.noclibya.com.ly/
"http://en.noclibya.com.ly
, 12/16/2008]


4. (U) Hess Discovers Oil in Libya Sirte Offshore: In Libya,
well A1-54/01, which is located 38 miles offshore in the Sirte
Basin, was drilled to a depth of 11,077 feet in 2,807 feet of
water. The well encountered a gross hydrocarbon section of
approximately 500 feet at various intervals. Hess holds a 12.4
percent share and the NOC holds the remaining 87.6 percent.
[rigzone.com, 12/17/2008]


5. (U) Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company Pre-Qualifies More
than Ten Companies to Provide Drilling Services: A
prequalification notice had been issued, and the companies in
the running, all based in Libya, now have until the end of
January to make their bid quotations. The tender is for 1,500
horsepower drilling rig services in the Murzuq basin. The
project comprises two firm and five optional wild cat wells to
be drilled within the range of 9,000-11,000 feet. [MEED,
12/30/2008]


6. (U) Libya Orders to Cut Production by 270,000 Barrels per
Day: Effective Jan 1, Libya ordered oil companies operating in
Libya to cut production by 270,000 barrels per day, which is
more than Libya is requested to do under OPEC agreement to slash
the cartel's production by 2.2 billion barrels per day. [JANA,
12/30/2008]


7. (U) Five Firms Are Expected to Bid for an Onshore Drilling
Contract: Total Exploration & Production Libya, a subsidiary of
France's Total expects to formally begin the tender process in
early January. Prequalification entries were accepted until
early December, and around five firms were left in the running
after that process ended. The contract is for the provision of
onshore drilling rig services and the testing of two exploration
onshore wells with possible options in the west of Libya. The
proposed land rig would have a maximum drilling depth of
approximately 21,000 feet. The well spud is planned for the
third quarter of 2009. [MEED, 12/31/2008]


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8. (U) Libya Gains $5.4 Billion Dollars from Altering Oil Deals:
The NOC reported earnings of $5.4 billion U.S. dollars in
additional oil revenues from changes to contracts with foreign
companies ENI, Petro-Canada and two consortiums led respectively
by U.S. Occidental and Spain's Repsol last year. The changes of
deals yielded $2.4 billion U.S. dollars extra earnings during
the first nine months of 2008. The companies also accepted to
pay a total of $3 billion U.S. dollars as up-front payments. NOC
said negotiations were underway with other companies to reach
similar changes which would boost oil earnings further.
[HYPERLINK "http://en.noclibya.com.ly/
"http://en.noclibya.com.ly
, 1/18/2009]


9. (U) New Oil and Gas Discovery by Australian Woodside: NOC
announced that an exploratory well drilled by Woodside in the
Ghadames Basin, 900 kilometers South of Tripoli, produced oil
and gas when tested. The well, F1-NC210, is the fourth discovery
drilled by Woodside Energy in the contract area NC210, awarded
by the NOC in May 2003. Under the contract, Woodside has a 37
percent production share and the NOC has 63 percent.
[Libyaonline.com, 1/15/2009]


10. (U) Canadian Verenex Confirms Oil and Gas Discovery in
Libya: Canadian company Verenex has made its tenth oil discovery
in Libya's western region of Ghadames since drilling began in
September 2006. So far, Verenex has drilled four appraisal
wells, and fourteen exploratory wells. The last four wells
drilled are yet to be tested. Verenex, Indonesia's Medco Energi
and Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed a 30-year
production-sharing agreement in 2005, where the two foreign
companies will take 13.7 percent of production and the NOC 86.3
percent. [Tripoli Post, 1/18/2009]


11. (U) Shell Awards Seismic Contract: The UK/Dutch Shell Group
has awarded a seismic contract to BGP, the geophysical division
of Chinese oil company China National Petroleum Corporation
(CNPC),for a survey on the gas exploration block 89N in the
onshore Sirte Basin. It is considered a difficult area to work
in due to the potential risk from landmines. Shell won blocks 1
and 3 in contract area 89 in the Sirte Basin in Libya's first
gas exploration licensing round in 2007. [MEED 1/20/08]


12. (U) Mitsubishi, Libya University to Jointly Study Green
Energy: On January 28, the two parties signed a memorandum of
understanding to begin joint research and development of
reusable energy sources. Under the agreement, the Japanese
trading company will support research into reusable energy by
Libya's largest university, supplying test materials and sending
specialists to the university from 2009 to 2011. The first
initiative between the two will involve field-tests of solar
power generation systems at the university. The plan is for the
university to accumulate technology and expertise, and then
cultivate leaders for the new industry. [AsiaPulse, 1/26/2009]

CONSTRUCTION


13. (U) South Korea's Hanil Wins a $902.5 Billion Work Order in
Libya: South Korean builder Hanil Engineering and Construction
said that it had secured an order worth $902.5 billion from
Libya. Hanil said in a regulatory filing that Libya's
Organization for the Development of Administrative Centers
placed the order to build houses and infrastructure in Libya.
[Reuters, 12/22/08]


14. (U) Indian Company Simplex Projects Ltd Gets Construction
Contract in Libya: The contract is to develop a housing project
in Libya, which comprises the construction of 2,000 houses, a
public building, and roads, drainage and sewage systems; the
project is scheduled to be completed in 36 months. This is the

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first overseas project for the Indian company. [Reuters,
1/13/2009]


15. (U) Indian Company Wins $267 million U.S. Contract in Libya:
The Libyan Housing and Infrastructure Board awarded a $267
million U.S. dollars contract to the Indian construction and
engineering firm Punj Lloyd Ltd. The 40-month project involves
the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of
infrastructure networks including water mains, sewerage tunnels,
and roads in the Souk Al-Juma area, in Tripoli. In early January
Punj Lloyd was awarded a similar contract worth $214 million
U.S. dollars in a joint venture with the Public Works Company
Tripoli (PWCT). The four-year project involves upgrading the
infrastructure in the Arada area of Tripoli. [The Tripoli Post,
1/18/2009]


16. (U) China Railway Wins $805 million dollars contract in
Libya: The contract worth $805 million dollars is to build a 172
kilometer railway that will connect Tripoli with the
Libya-Tunisia border. The construction of the line is expected
to take around 54 months. The deal follows a $2.6 billion dollar
contract, signed last year to build two other rail lines, a 352
kilometer railway along Libya's Mediterranean coast, and an 800
kilometer line in the south. The coastal railroad is slated for
completion in four years, and the southern line is expected to
be completed in three years. [libyaninvestment.com, 1/23/2009]

FOREIGN TRADE


17. (U) Italy-Libya Trade Tops 14 Billion Euros in 2008 First
Eight Months: While Libya tries to enter into Eni's capital,
trade relations with Italy continue to grow, with import-exports
in the first eight months of the year exceeding 14 billion Euros
and confirming the North African country as Italy's top trading
partner in the Mediterranean. The figures emerge from a study
made by the Milan Chamber of Commerce into the latest figures
for import-export between Italy and 13 Mediterranean basin
countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Malta,
Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the Palestinian
Territories, Jordan). In January-August imports from Libya grew
by 40% compared with the first eight months of 2007, exceeding
12.4 billion Euros. Exports grew by 57%, exceeding 1.7 billion
Euros. The figure makes Libya the fifth largest market for Italy
in the Mediterranean. [ANSAmed, 12/09/08]

REGIONAL ISSUES


18. (U) Libya to Take Half Million Bangladeshi Workers:
Secretary of Manpower Training and Employment, Maa'touk Mohammad
Maa'touk, said that Libya would take half a million Bangladeshi
skilled, semi-skilled and general workers for different projects
soon. Maa'touk stressed that the Embassy of Bangladesh should
verify the issues of job, salary, housing and fringe benefits of
every worker before they could come to Libya from Bangladesh.
[www.nation.ittefaq.com, 12/13/2008]


19. (U) Oman, Libya Sign $500 Million JV Deal: The Sultanate of
Oman and Libya have signed a $500 million deal to establish a
joint investment company to be based in Tripoli. The company
will invest in real estate, tourism, industrial, services and
energy projects and will also set up joint stock companies to
undertake different projects, according to a joint statement.
The State General Reserve Fund will represent Oman in the
Oman-Libya Investment Holding Company. [Khaleej Times,
12/14/2008]


20. (U) Global Grain Rush Under Way as Rich Nations Snap up
Farmland Overseas: Under a proposed agreement with Kiev, Libya
would lease 247,000 acres of Ukraine's rich black land to grow
wheat. The harvest would then be shipped back to Libya, giving

TRIPOLI 00000151 004 OF 006


the desert nation a more secure supply of food in the face of
predictions about higher food prices and potential shortages in
decades to come. Ukraine, in turn, would get access to Libyan
oil fields, helping free it from dependence on Russia for its
energy needs. [Chicago Tribune, 12/14/2008]


21. (U) Irrigation, Key for Africa's Food Security: On December
15, a conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa:
The Challenges of Climate Change opened. It was organized by FAO
together with the Libyan Government and in collaboration with
stakeholders including the African Union, the African Ministers'
Council on Water Development, the African Development Bank and
the Economic Commission for Africa. The conference aims at
setting the scene for moving from talk to action on a $65
billion, 20-year program for irrigation and hydroenergy
investments required in each country. [African Press
Organization (APO),12/15/08]


22. (U) Trade Exchange between Libya and Tunisia Reached 2.2
Billion Libyan Dinars during 2008: The trade exchange exceeded
the specified value by 10%; the Secretary of the Libyan General
People's Committee said that this value is expected to hit 2.5
billion by the end of 2008. The secretary mentioned that one of
the most important of these projects is laying a strategic gas
pipeline that will connect Libya with Tunisia; this project will
be executed by a Libyan-Tunisian Joint committee starting in

2009. Currently, there are teams working in the areas of
education, trade, and investment to boost bilateral integration
between the countries. [JANA, 12/27/08]


23. (U) Libya to Invest in Oil Refinery in Egypt: Libya will
invest in an oil refinery and a number of construction projects
in Egypt under a deal signed in December 2008, during a visit to
Tripoli by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Aside from the
refinery, Libya will also build service stations as well as an
industrial and residential complex in Egypt. The two countries
are also working towards establishing a free exchange zone on
their border. The number of Libyan companies working in Egypt
reached 236 companies, and Egyptian investment companies are
currently working in Libya. Volume of trade exchange between
the two countries is expected to increase to two billion
dollars. [Tripoli Post, 1/1/2009]

INVESTMENT


24. (U) Libyan Fund in Talks over Kaupthing Unit-Luxembourg:
Talks have taken place over the possible sale of the Luxembourg
arm of troubled Icelandic bank Kaupthing to a Libyan sovereign
fund. Budget and Treasury Minister Luc Frieden, said there had
been discussions with several possible buyers which have to be
concluded by year's-end. The Libyan Investment Authority fund
had emerged as the front-runner to buy Kaupthing Luxembourg.
Other suitors that have been cited to have shown interest in
picking up the Kaupthing's Belgian customers include online bank
Keytrade Bank, a subsidiary of France's Credit Agricole and
German bank Landesbank Nord. [Reuters, 12/10/2008]


25. (U) Libya Emerges from Sanctions with Investment: The Libyan
Investment Authority (LIA) is set to complete Libya's first UK
commercial property transaction since the suspension of economic
sanctions at the end of the 1990s. Part of the LIA has agreed to
buy a large office building in the City of London for about #120
million UK pounds from German fund manager IVG. The 172,000
square feet former Lloyds' City headquarters at 14 Cornhill will
be sold for a yield of about 6 per cent. DTZ and Knight Frank
are advising IVG. None of the parties involved would comment on
the sale. [Financial Times, 12/12/2008]


26. (U) Libya to List Ten Companies on Libyan Stock Market:
Libya plans to sell shares in more state-owned companies as the

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government seeks to boost the economy and develop the bourse set
up last year. The state-run Economic and Social Development Fund
aims to offer foreign investors about 15 percent of 10
companies. Libya's Al-Jomhuria Bank is among the 10 companies
that may be sold on the stock market following further sales of
shares in Al Wahda Bank and Al Sahara Bank, both of which are
already traded on the exchange. Arab Bank, Jordan's largest
publicly traded bank, bought a 19 percent stake in Libya's Wahda
Bank in February for 210 million euros. BNP Paribas SA, France's
biggest bank, purchased 19 percent of Libya's state-owned Sahara
Bank for 145 million euros on Oct. 4. [Bloomberg, 12/17/2008]

IT


27. (U) STS PayONE Voucher powers Bank of Commerce and
Development in Libya: STS, MENA's leading enterprise ePayment
solutions provider and system integrator, furnished Bank of
Commerce and Development in Libya with an enterprise-level
platform for the management and distribution of its electronic
voucher service at several point-of-sale terminals located
throughout the Libyan retail outlets. Bank of Commerce and
Development will be able to support multiple service delivery
channels including dial-up, GSM, ATMS, IVR and SMS. It provides
management and dispensing capabilities for the GSM prepaid
airtime, with the ability to add more services and access
channels to achieve higher customer satisfaction and fulfill
expansion goals. [menafn.com, 12/1/2008]


28. (U) UNESCO Reinforces Capacities of Public Administrations
through the Use of Free Software: The Arab Federation of
Technical Education, the UNESCO Office in Rabat, and ISESCO, in
cooperation with the Libyan Ministry of the Labor and Training,
organized a workshop at the Higher Institute of Computer
Technology in Tripoli, Libya. The workshop aimed to reinforce
capacities of public administrations through Free and Open
Source Software (FOSS). During the three-day workshop, experts
from the Maghreb countries presented best practices in using
FOSS in their respective countries. This enabled participants to
reinforce the capacities of universities in the field of
technical education through the use of FOSS, and to develop
tools in order to make public services more transparent.
[UNESCO, 12/19/2008]


29. (U) Libya Introduces WiMAX Mobile Service: Libya Telecom and
Technology (LTT) launched on January 22, the WiMAX mobile
service in Libya. In the first phase, LTT aims to provide the
WiMAX mobile service to 300,000 subscribers in the country. LTT
worked along with Alcatel, ZTE, and Huawei companies for the
realization of the project. The WiMAX service is currently
available in eighteen Libyan cities. [libyaonline.com,
01/25/2009]

TRANSPORTATION


30. (U) Libya Buys Six Oil Tankers for $400 Million Dollars:
Libya's national maritime transport company announced on
Wednesday the purchase of six oil tankers valued at a total of
400 million dollars. The contracts were signed with Korean naval
construction group Samsung Heavy Industries and Japanese
constructor Sasebo Heavy Industries. Four tankers will be built
by Samsung and the other two by Sasebo. The tankers will have a
total capacity of 700,000 tons, or the equivalent of five
million barrels of crude. Headed by Hannibal al-Qadhafi, the
company exercises a near-monopoly in the transport of Libyan
oil. Its fleet currently comprises 18 tankers with a total
capacity of 11.8 million barrels. [AFP, 12/24/08]


31. (U) Libya Bans Swiss Flights: Libya has banned Switzerland's
national carrier, Swiss International Air Lines, from flying to
Tripoli. This is the latest twist in ongoing diplomatic row

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between the two countries after the arrest of Muammar
al-Qadhafi's son, Hannibal. Switzerland's national carrier had
three weekly flights from Zurich to Tripoli until mid-July when
the Libyan authorities reduced them to one, citing "technical
reasons." Swiss Air Lines spokeswoman says the company received
a letter saying it had to stop its last remaining flight due to
technical reasons. [www.voa.com, 12/25/08]


32. (U) U.S. Shipping Carrier Nordana Introduces New Service in
Libya: Beginning in February, Nordana will include the Port of
Misurata to its services in Libyan ports. The Port of Misurata
will be called on all sailings to Libya with a frequency of 17
to 18 days. Since trade relations reopened between the U.S. and
Libya in 2004, Nordana has been operating regular roll on / roll
off vessels and breakbulk services from the U.S. into Libya.
Nordana also serves the Libyan ports of Benghazi, Marsa El
Brega, and Tripoli. [breakbulk.com, 1/12/2009]

LAW


33. (U) Libyan Tax Authority Director Calls on Foreign Companies
to Abide by Law: The Director of the Libyan Tax Authority, Mr.
Al Bueshi Maa'toug Al Alafi, has called on both local and
foreign companies operating in Libya to help his organization by
abiding by the law and paying their taxes regularly. Mr. Bueshi
advised foreign companies operating in Libya to strictly
implement public laws and make sure that they are hiring
competent financial managers and good lawyers who would advise
them on legal matters accordingly. Mr. Bueshi made the call
during a symposium on reforming the Tax System held in Tripoli.
[Tripoli Post, 12/11/08]

BANKING


34. (U) Libyan Bank Named among the Best Emerging Market Banks
in Africa 2008: Global Finance magazine has named Wahda Bank of
Libya among the "Best Emerging Market Banks in Africa 2008".
Global Finance editors with input from industry analysts,
corporate executives and banking consultants selects the best
emerging market bank based on growth in assets, profitability,
strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing,
and innovative products within the region. Wahda Bank ranked
number 90 among 100 banks in Africa, but for it to be among the
best emerging market banks in Africa remains an important sign
that the banking system in Libya is advancing after many years
of total stagnation. [Tripoli Post, 12/13/08]
CRETZ