Lifting of US sanctions could make Libyan oil cheaper

The anticipated lifting of US sanctions against Libya would mean more and cheaper Libyan oil, the country's foreign minister said.
"When the Americans come our production of oil will be better and cheaper," Abdulrahman Mohamed Shalgam said, as Libya would be able to avail itself of the latest US technology. He noted that agreements still existed between Tripoli and US oil companies regarding concessions for operating in Libya.

Shalgham was speaking at a joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who was winding up two days of talks following on Libya's announcement that it was abandoning nuclear weapons programs.
Libya's promise made on December 19 to Britain and the United States to disarm has brought the country in from the international cold and given a huge boost to diplomatic and other relations with the West. Earlier, US President George W. Bush was quoted as saying that "as Libya continues to fulfil its commitments, it will be able to realize better relations with the rest of the world."

In Tripoli, meanwhile, a US congressional delegation told Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that Washington could very soon lift sanctions against Tripoli if it pursues a policy of disarmament.
US diplomats were withdrawn from Libya in 1979 after demonstrators ransacked the US embassy. Diplomatic ties between Washington and Tripoli were severed in 1981, and the United States imposed an embargo in 1986 that is still in force. The United Nations lifted sanctions against Libya last year after Tripoli agreed to a compensation deal over the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.