Senator: U.S., Libya Work to End Sanctions (OIL)

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Senator: U.S., Libya Work to End Sanctions


Sunday August 21, 2005 12:01 AM

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - U.S. and Libyan officials are working toward opening an American Embassy in Tripoli and ending Libya's designation as a terrorist-sponsoring country, Sen. Richard Lugar said Saturday.

Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Libya, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said U.S.-Libyan officials were taking steps to make sure that Libya was no longer involved in terrorism with the aim of removing the country from the State Department's list of countries supporting terrorism.

Lugar, R-Ind., said he had spoken with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and raised issues of terrorism, human rights in Libya, and economic cooperation with the country that the world used to regard as a rogue state. Lugar said he could not predict when the United States would reopen an embassy in Tripoli, but that he had talked with Libyans about working toward that goal.

In June 2004, the United States opened a liaison office in Tripoli, 24 years after Washington closed its embassy in Libya. Last year, the United States took steps toward normalizing trade and investment with Libya, allowing the import of Libyan oil.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5223191,00.html

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1. Libya 6th Largest in oil reserves- 15th largest producer

Map & Graph: Energy: Oil reserves

Reserves
6.
Libya
29.75 billion bbl (1 January 2002)


Production:
15. Libya
1.3 million barrels/day
16. 1.4 mb/d