The head of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, TPAO, office in Libya, Ahmet Tandircioglu has been reported saying that his company was eager to resume its oil exploration and other projects in the new Libya.
The TPAO executive said that the companies that served TPAO suffered losses and damages during the eight-month long armed conflict that deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Al Qathafi. It had to suspend its projects during the revolution. He is also well aware that they will have to wait for some more time to begin their projects under the new leadership that still needs to settle.
Mr Tandircioglu also told AA that TPAO, the only oil company that did not close its office in Libya during the uprising, intends to increase its investments in Libya.
The Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company, TPOC, that is bound to TPAO, started to explore oil in Libya in 2000. TPAO's Libyan employees continued to serve the company for some more time.
The company made its first discovery near Murzuq city, in south of Libya, in 2009 and struck oil in six wells in 2010. TPAO, named by the Oil & Gas Year magazine as the most successful oil company in Libya in 2010, managed 7,227 barrels of high-gravity oil every day.
Libya may be months from a new government, with elections set for June next year, but businesspeople looking to land contracts with there are frequent visitors with the Turks, who had some 50,000 mainly construction workers there during the Al Qathafi era, ever so keen to reclaim their position, appear to be moving quickl to re-stablish themselves as one of Libya's closest partners.
During one recent afternoon, one of the the top hotels in Tripoli hosted hastily organised meetings between Libyans and a swarm of Turks representing 150 different companies.
(Source: Tripoli Post)
