BP is threatening to take on the trickster god Of Geology, claiming it might dare drill in the Mediterranean offshore Libya before the end of 2013.
The British major called off plans for the venture early 2012 as the Civil war raged in the north African country. But it was a venture that was imbued with exceptional high risk, even in peace time. The truth is, the deepwater Mediterranean, outside of BG’s concession off neighbouring Egypt, has not yielded much. Indeed, Shell has failed to hit a sizeable pool in that same corner of the Mediterranean, offshore Egypt.What BP has in Libyan deepwater is size: it will explore the frontier Sirt basin, described as being equivalent in size to more than ten of its deep-water blocks in Angola.
The deepwater Mediterranean drilling is part of a $2 billion exploration programme that BP has announced, long before Ghadaffi’s overthrow in 2011. BP cancelled its war -induced boycott of Libyan operations in May 2012 and told the energy press it planned to begin the preliminary work needed before it can start drilling exploration wells. The company posted a tender invitation, with submission deadline for August 14, 2012, on the Libyan National Oil Company website requesting contractors to do underwater geological surveying.
