Libya Allures Foreign Oil Firms

Libya is going to draw foreign investment into eight oil and natural gas projects this year.
It may become the first opportunity for American oil companies to do new business in Libya after the US sanctions in the country.
Now the director of planning at the National Oil Company of Libya is negotiating the terms of an open auction for eight projects across the country and off the coast.

The projects would not contribute immediately to worldwide oil supply and thus would have no near-term effect on oil prices
The easing of sanctions against Libya allows U.S. oil companies to revive their participation in decades-old production ventures in the country, and already, Occidental Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil and Amerada Hess have moved to renegotiate their old leases.
But the new projects Libya is preparing for auction would let U.S. companies catch up to European rivals like Agip and Total that have moved in over the last 20 years to help develop Libya's reserves.