Libya eyes nationalisation of oil firms: Kadhafi

TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said Tripoli could nationalise foreign oil firms operating in the country unless prices rise to 100 dollars a barrel, the state news agency JANA reported on Saturday.

“There have been calls for the nationalisation of the oil and gas industry,” he said at a dinner on Friday night for visiting King Juan Carlos of Spain.


“We hope this will not happen. We hope oil prices will rise to a reasonable level,” he said. “A price which stabilises at around 100 dollars … is a reasonable target price.”

Libyan newspapers have been calling for the sector to be nationalised to enable Tripoli to hold more sway over production levels and on how to react to price falls.

Nationalisation was “a legitimate right” and would allow Libya “to control the oil industry without foreign participation,” said Kadhafi.

AFP