Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TRIPOLI365
2009-05-04 14:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tripoli
Cable title:  

LIBYA COMMERCIAL ROUND-UP FOR APRIL 2009

Tags:  ECON EIND EINV EPET ENRG ETRD PGOV LY 
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VZCZCXRO5620
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTRO #0365/01 1241402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041402Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4783
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1461
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0810
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0933
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0874
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 5313
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000365 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG, COMMERCE FOR NATE MASON, ENERGY FOR GINA ERIKSON, (NATHAN MASON),ADVOCACY CTR (REITZA),AND CLDP (TEJTEL AND

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

ENERGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000365

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG, COMMERCE FOR NATE MASON, ENERGY FOR GINA ERIKSON, (NATHAN MASON),ADVOCACY CTR (REITZA),AND CLDP (TEJTEL AND

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

ENERGY


1. (U) ExxonMobil Set to Prequalify Firms for Libyan Seismic
Work: ExxonMobil Libya will prequalify contractors for a 2D
seismic data acquisition and onboard processing services program
offshore Libya. The data acquisition will begin in the fourth
quarter of 2009. [MEED, 4/1/2009]


2. (U) IPS Signs Contract with Waha in Libya: Invensys Process
Systems (IPS),a global technology, software and consulting
firm, signed a contract with Waha Oil Company (company owned by
Libya's National Oil Corporation in a joint venture with
ConocoPhillips, Marathon and Amerada Hess) to provide
comprehensive automation upgrades at the company's oil fields.
These services and solutions will enable Waha Oil to increase
production, as well as grant access to centralized, real-time
information that will reduce operating and production costs. IPS
is the leading automation company in Libya. [Exploration &
Production Magazine, 4/1/2009]


3. (U) China's CNPC Eyeing Petro-Canada Assets: Top Chinese oil
firm China National Petroleum Corporation announced its interest
in purchasing $5 billion of assets held by Petro-Canada in Syria
and Libya. Canadian companies Petro-Canada and Suncor Energy are
in the process of merging and any discussions regarding the
future plans of Petro-Canada and Suncor will have to wait until
the merger is completed. Despite the financial crisis, Chinese
state-backed oil giants are aggressively scouring Africa and
South America for energy assets to secure supplies and power
economic growth at home. [Reuters, 4/6/2009]


4. (U) Repsol and OMV Make Discovery Offshore Libya: Libya's
National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that Spain's Repsol and
Austria's OMV have made their first discovery offshore Libya on
Block NC-202. The NC-202 block was awarded in November 2003, and
is operated by Repsol, which holds a 21% interest, the NOC holds
65% interest, and Austrian OMV holds the remaining 14% working

interest. [PetroleumAfrica.com, 4/11/2009]


5. (U) Algeria's Sonatrach Finds Oil in Libya's Ghadames Region:
Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that a
hydrocarbon discovery was made by the SIPEX Libyan branch,
(Sonatrach in Libya) at an exploratory well onshore in the
Ghadames basin, 230 kilometers south of Tripoli. Sonatrach
acquired the block in 2005 and holds a 25% stake, while the NOC
holds the remaining 75% stake. [www.noclibya.com.ly, 4/13/2009]


6. (U) Libyan Fuel Distributor Plans to Enter Tunisia: Planning
Director of al-Rahila, second fuel distributor in Libya,
announced the company's plan to establish in Tunisia. The access
to the Tunisian market is one of al-Rahila five-year plan. Two
possibilities are on the agenda, the first is to find a
strategic partner running already gas stations in Tunisia or
building its own filling stations network. [African Manager,
4/15/2009]


7. (U) Libya Smart Energy City Project Signed: A $ 5 billion
dollar contract to build a smart energy city west of Tripoli was
signed between Libyan al-Niqat Al-Khams Company for Investment
and Tourism Development, one of the companies affiliated with
the Economic and Social Development Fund, and Gulf Funding
House, one of the financial institutions in Bahrain and the Arab
Gulf. Implementation of the project will start immediately. The
project will be implemented jointly; the Libyan company will
contribute 40% and the Gulf Funding House 60%. The city will
accommodate offices for oil and gas, shipping, trade and media
companies. The project will also include a tourist resort and
recreational spaces, residential compounds, and a marina. [Libya
Alyoum, 4/25/2009]


8. (U) Occidental Increases Regional Oil Production Despite
Decreasing Production in Libya: American Occidental Petroleum
increased its oil production in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) by 5 per cent during the first quarter of 2009. In its
earnings release, Occidental said it produced 142,000 barrels a
day (b/d) in the MENA region in the first quarter of 2009,
compared with 135,000 b/d in the same period of 2008.
Occidental's oil production in Oman rose 70 per cent; however,
its production in Libya fell 63 per cent to just 8,000 barrels a
day. [MEED, 4/26/2009]

REGIONAL ISSUES


9. (U) 7th Round Of Joint Libyan -Tunisian Consular Committee:
After the 7th round of Joint Libyan -Tunisian Consular Committee
talks, a minute was signed by the Director of Consular Affairs

TRIPOLI 00000365 002 OF 003


Department at General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and
International Cooperation and the Director General of Consular
Affairs at the Tunisian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The minute
provides consular cooperation support between the two countries
in areas covering, customs, workforce and social security as
well as cooperation in security, judicial, fishing, travel and
residence fields for citizens of both countries. The next round
of the joint committee will be in 2010 in Libya.
[Libyaonline.com, 4/4/2009]


10. (U) Libya Donates $1.4 Million Dollars Worth in Livestock
Equipment to Mali: Libya has donated equipment, worth $1.4
million dollars, for the promotion of livestock, to Mali. The
donation represents the second part of Libya's material support
for Mali's annual live stock vaccination campaign for 2008-2009.
The first batch of the equipment was given in late 2008 during
the visit of a Libyan government delegation to Mali. [Afrique En
Ligne, 4/7/2009]


11. (U) Libya Donates Ten Tractors to Sierra Leone to Support
Sierra Leone Food Security Program: Ten tractors have been
handed over to the Sierra Leone Government by the Libyan
Ambassador to Sierra Leone. Libya intends to assists Sierra
Leone in its food security program. The program initially
provides 5,000 acres for rice cultivation. In addition to the
tractors, the Libyan Government has provided 10 technicians and
operators for the farmlands; the aid package also includes
maintenance services and the provision of fuel and lubricants
for the tractors. [Libyaninvestment.com, 4/24/2009]

TRADE


12. (U) 38th Round of Tripoli International Fair Held in
Tripoli: 38th Round of Tripoli International Fair was held in
Tripoli from April 2 - 12. 39 countries including Belorussia,
France, India, Iran, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Italy, Austria,
Spain and Greece participated in the fair. [libyaonline.com,
4/4/2009]


13. (U) Libyan Fair Authority Sings MOU with Milano Expo 2015:
The Libyan Fairs Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with MilanoExpo 2015 Ltd., and the Italian Institute of
Foreign Trade whereby the two parties agreed on forging
cooperation between MilanoExpo 2015 and Tripoli International
Fair. Libyan companies will be provided an opportunity to
participate with their goods and services in MilanoExpo 2015.
The MOU includes the provision of assistance to Libyans
interested in participating. [Tripoli Post, 4/4/2009]

BILATERAL ISSUES


14. (U) Libya, Portugal Review Cooperation as International
Trade Fair Opens: The Portuguese Economy and Finance minister
visited Libya during the 38th Tripoli International Trade Fair,
and discussed with Libyan officials means to develop economic
cooperation in the fields of civil works, infrastructure and
renewable energy through the establishment of joint investment
projects between Libya and Portugal. [africanmanager.com,
4/4/2009]


15. (U) Bilateral Cooperation between Tripoli and Belorussia: A
Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Libya and Belarus
on the development of economic cooperation and trade between the
two countries. Under the Memorandum, the countriess will support
bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment, industry, oil
and chemicals, planning and construction, infrastructure, urban
development, transportation, health and production of medicines,
food industries and scientific research. Direct flights between
Tripoli and Minsk and the facilitation of procedures for
obtaining visas for nationals of both countries are also part of
the agreement. [Oea, 4/6/2009]


16. (U) Turkish Minister Visits Libya for Business Talks: A
50-member delegation including businessmen from the sectors of
construction and furniture accompanied Turkish State Minister
during an official visit to Libya. The Minister held talks with
Libyan officials as an effort to create new business
opportunities for Turkey and to improve economic and commercial
relations between the two countries. [world bulletin, 4/22/2009]

INVESTMENT


17. (U) Benghazi Business Incubator Launched: The Benghazi
Business Incubator program comes as part of Libya's plan to
diversify the economy, supporting small and medium enterprises
development and promotion. The opening was attended by

TRIPOLI 00000365 003 OF 003


representatives of different economic sectors in the region.
After Tripoli and Benghazi, a third business incubator program
is planned for Sebha, southern Libya. [Tripoli Post, 4/11/2009]


18. (U) The Libyan Stock Exchange Regulated a Specialized Course
in Securities Investment: In the context of promoting culture of
investment in the financial markets, a session of specialized
training programs in how to invest in the stock markets with the
public and private companies as well as natural persons was held
in Tripoli. The session included a comprehensive training
program on financial markets, stock companies and the role of
intermediaries in the implementation of the sale and purchase.
[libyaonline.com, 4/13/2009]


19. (U) Opening of Libyan Center for Information of Credit:
Libya Central Bank announced the establishment of the Libyan
center for information of credit as the first credit office for
the reformation and development of the banking sector in Libya.
The Libyan center for information of credit started its services
to the banks on April 15 through its website: www.lcic.ly.com.
The center aims at collecting and documenting the personal and
credit information of financial borrowers, providing the banks
with detailed credit reports; this information will improve the
banks abilities to evaluate the risks of credit.
[Libyaonline.com, 4/9/2009]

IT


20. (U) Contract to Provide Optical Fiber Services in Libya:
Libya Telecommunication and Technology (LTT) and the Chinese
company Huawei Technologies Co. signed a contract to implement
optical fiber technology in Tripoli. Initially 800 houses on the
airport highway will be connected and then the network coverage
will be expanded to other districts. LTT expects to provide more
stable and more advanced broadband services.
[Libyaninvestment.com, 4/9/2009]


21. (U) Microsoft Opens an Office in Tripoli: Microsoft Company
opened its new headquarters in Tripoli and appointed a Libyan
distributor for its programs as a start in the Libyan market.
Representatives from Microsoft announced the company's intention
to establish a long-term cooperation and relationship with its
partners in Libya. [Libyaninvestment.com, 4/12/2009]

AVIATION


22. (U) Afriqiyah Airways Achieved "ISO" Certificate and Signed
Contracts for New Planes: Afriqiyah Airways Company achieved the
"ISO" certificate of IATA. Also, Afriqiyah Airways Company
signed a contract with Airbus Company to purchase 23 planes
including, 11 Airbus planes A320, 6 Airbus planes A350, 3 Airbus
planes A319 and 3 Airbus planes A330. Afriqiyah Airways Company
announced that it will start direct flights to: Johannesburg,
Manila, Beijing, Guangzhou and Parsifal. [libyaonline.com,
4/12/2009]


23. (U) Biman Bangladesh Airlines to Launch Flight to Libya:
Biman Bangladesh Airlines announced the beginning of two new
international routes. The Bangladeshi airline will start flights
to Libya and China -two of the country's fastest-growing trade
partners- next month as it sees a potential increase of air
traffic on the routes. Biman will operate bi-weekly flights to
Tripoli and Guangzhou starting in May. Demand for air travel
between Dhaka and Tripoli has peaked since the Libyan government
announced it will hire more than 500,000 Bangladesh workers in
the construction sector. Currently, Biman travels to 18
countries around the world. [Financial Express, 4/25/2009]

MEDICAL


24. (U) iSOFT Secures Contract with Leading Libyan Hospital: IBA
Health Group's Middle East and African iSOFT divisions have
secured a two-year $100 dollars deal with al-Khadra Hospital, to
deploy iSOFT's hospital information system and laboratory
information system at the hospital. iSOFT has collaborated with
Alshada Pharmaceutical & Medical Equipment in Tripoli, to
install its system through a two-phased implementation process
at the hospital. [HealthNEWS.Direct, 4/42009]
CRETZ