TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The head of the Libyan National Oil Corporation said Tuesday delivered oil giant BP was an "opportunity" for investors after the shares dropped by half since April.
"BP is currently an opportunity for every investor," Shukri Ghanem told AFP NOC President."It is a recommendation that might be worthwhile to Libya or any other country or investor," said Ghanem, without specifying whether the North African OPEC country can invest in BP.
But Ghanem, who was asked to comment on rumors that Libya would be interested in buying a stake in the troubled oil giant, said that he was just giving an "economist point of view"
"This has nothing to do, by near or far, with Libyan investment decisions," he said.
BP's share price has collapsed by more than 50 percent since the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon rented it sank on April 22, two days after an explosion that 11 workers slain.
BP on Tuesday insisted that they must cope with soaring oil spill costs without asking shareholders for cash, amid reports that Britain is preparing a crisis plan if the company was sunk by the disaster.
Libya is the third largest African oil producer after Nigeria and Angola at 1.7 million barrels per day and has estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels.
It is also looking to develop natural gas production, with proven reserves estimated at 1.540 billion cubic meters, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Libyan natural gas exports almost doubled from 5.4 billion cubic meters in 2005 to more than 10 billion cubic meters per year, according to OPEC.
"BP is a big company and know how to overcome the difficulties very quickly," said Ghanem.