Libya Prepares

To help pave the way for US oil majors' return, the post of energy minister has been reinstated in Libya, with the honors going to Fathi Omar bin Chetwane.

The son of Libyan leader Muamar Qaddafi, Seif al-Islam, has stated that the heads of Marathon, Occidental and ConocoPhillips would visit Tripoli next week, and that US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham would follow in the next two months.

The US Energy Department says Abraham has no immediate plans to go. And at its annual strategy meeting this week, Exxon Mobil head Lee Raymond was noncommittal about Exxon's possible return, but he stressed that Exxon had no intent "of getting ahead of the US government on this."