VZCZCXRO5620
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTRO #0365/01 1241402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041402Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4783
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1461
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0810
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0933
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0874
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 5313

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000365 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG, COMMERCE FOR NATE MASON, ENERGY FOR GINA ERIKSON, (NATHAN MASON), ADVOCACY CTR (REITZA), AND CLDP (TEJTEL AND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND EINV EPET ENRG ETRD PGOV LY

1.(U) ExxonMobil Set to Prequalify Firms for Libyan Seismic Work: ExxonMobil Libya will prequalify contractors for a 2D seismic data acquisition and onboard processing services program offshore Libya. The data acquisition will begin in the fourth quarter of 2009. [MEED, 4/1/2009]

2.(U) IPS Signs Contract with Waha in Libya: Invensys Process Systems (IPS), a global technology, software and consulting firm, signed a contract with Waha Oil Company (company owned by Libya's National Oil Corporation in a joint venture with ConocoPhillips, Marathon and Amerada Hess) to provide comprehensive automation upgrades at the company's oil fields. These services and solutions will enable Waha Oil to increase production, as well as grant access to centralized, real-time information that will reduce operating and production costs. IPS is the leading automation company in Libya. [Exploration & Production Magazine, 4/1/2009]

3.(U) China's CNPC Eyeing Petro-Canada Assets: Top Chinese oil firm China National Petroleum Corporation announced its interest in purchasing $5 billion of assets held by Petro-Canada in Syria and Libya. Canadian companies Petro-Canada and Suncor Energy are in the process of merging and any discussions regarding the future plans of Petro-Canada and Suncor will have to wait until the merger is completed. Despite the financial crisis, Chinese state-backed oil giants are aggressively scouring Africa and South America for energy assets to secure supplies and power economic growth at home. [Reuters, 4/6/2009]

4.(U) Repsol and OMV Make Discovery Offshore Libya: Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that Spain's Repsol and Austria's OMV have made their first discovery offshore Libya on Block NC-202. The NC-202 block was awarded in November 2003, and is operated by Repsol, which holds a 21% interest, the NOC holds 65% interest, and Austrian OMV holds the remaining 14% working interest. [PetroleumAfrica.com, 4/11/2009]

5.(U) Algeria's Sonatrach Finds Oil in Libya's Ghadames Region: Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that a hydrocarbon discovery was made by the SIPEX Libyan branch, (Sonatrach in Libya) at an exploratory well onshore in the Ghadames basin, 230 kilometers south of Tripoli. Sonatrach acquired the block in 2005 and holds a 25% stake, while the NOC holds the remaining 75% stake. [www.noclibya.com.ly, 4/13/2009]

6.(U) Libyan Fuel Distributor Plans to Enter Tunisia: Planning Director of al-Rahila, second fuel distributor in Libya, announced the company's plan to establish in Tunisia. The access to the Tunisian market is one of al-Rahila five-year plan. Two possibilities are on the agenda, the first is to find a strategic partner running already gas stations in Tunisia or building its own filling stations network. [African Manager, 4/15/2009]

7.(U) Libya Smart Energy City Project Signed: A $ 5 billion dollar contract to build a smart energy city west of Tripoli was signed between Libyan al-Niqat Al-Khams Company for Investment and Tourism Development, one of the companies affiliated with the Economic and Social Development Fund, and Gulf Funding House, one of the financial institutions in Bahrain and the Arab Gulf. Implementation of the project will start immediately. The project will be implemented jointly; the Libyan company will contribute 40% and the Gulf Funding House 60%. The city will accommodate offices for oil and gas, shipping, trade and media companies. The project will also include a tourist resort and recreational spaces, residential compounds, and a marina. [Libya Alyoum, 4/25/2009]

8.(U) Occidental Increases Regional Oil Production Despite Decreasing Production in Libya: American Occidental Petroleum increased its oil production in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by 5 per cent during the first quarter of 2009. In its earnings release, Occidental said it produced 142,000 barrels a day (b/d) in the MENA region in the first quarter of 2009, compared with 135,000 b/d in the same period of 2008. Occidental's oil production in Oman rose 70 per cent; however, its production in Libya fell 63 per cent to just 8,000 barrels a day. [MEED, 4/26/2009]

REGIONAL ISSUES

9.(U) 7th Round Of Joint Libyan -Tunisian Consular Committee: After the 7th round of Joint Libyan -Tunisian Consular Committee talks, a minute was signed by the Director of Consular Affairs TRIPOLI 00000365 002 OF 003 Department at General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation and the Director General of Consular Affairs at the Tunisian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The minute provides consular cooperation support between the two countries in areas covering, customs, workforce and social security as well as cooperation in security, judicial, fishing, travel and residence fields for citizens of both countries. The next round of the joint committee will be in 2010 in Libya. [Libyaonline.com, 4/4/2009]

10.(U) Libya Donates $1.4 Million Dollars Worth in Livestock Equipment to Mali: Libya has donated equipment, worth $1.4 million dollars, for the promotion of livestock, to Mali. The donation represents the second part of Libya's material support for Mali's annual live stock vaccination campaign for 2008-2009. The first batch of the equipment was given in late 2008 during the visit of a Libyan government delegation to Mali. [Afrique En Ligne, 4/7/2009]

11.(U) Libya Donates Ten Tractors to Sierra Leone to Support Sierra Leone Food Security Program: Ten tractors have been handed over to the Sierra Leone Government by the Libyan Ambassador to Sierra Leone. Libya intends to assists Sierra Leone in its food security program. The program initially provides 5,000 acres for rice cultivation. In addition to the tractors, the Libyan Government has provided 10 technicians and operators for the farmlands; the aid package also includes maintenance services and the provision of fuel and lubricants for the tractors. [Libyaninvestment.com, 4/24/2009]

TRADE

12.(U) 38th Round of Tripoli International Fair Held in Tripoli: 38th Round of Tripoli International Fair was held in Tripoli from April 2 -

12.39 countries including Belorussia, France, India, Iran, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Spain and Greece participated in the fair. [libyaonline.com, 4/4/2009]

13.(U) Libyan Fair Authority Sings MOU with Milano Expo 2015: The Libyan Fairs Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MilanoExpo 2015 Ltd., and the Italian Institute of Foreign Trade whereby the two parties agreed on forging cooperation between MilanoExpo 2015 and Tripoli International Fair. Libyan companies will be provided an opportunity to participate with their goods and services in MilanoExpo 2015. The MOU includes the provision of assistance to Libyans interested in participating. [Tripoli Post, 4/4/2009] BILATERAL ISSUES

14.(U) Libya, Portugal Review Cooperation as International Trade Fair Opens: The Portuguese Economy and Finance minister visited Libya during the 38th Tripoli International Trade Fair, and discussed with Libyan officials means to develop economic cooperation in the fields of civil works, infrastructure and renewable energy through the establishment of joint investment projects between Libya and Portugal. [africanmanager.com, 4/4/2009]

15.(U) Bilateral Cooperation between Tripoli and Belorussia: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Libya and Belarus on the development of economic cooperation and trade between the two countries. Under the Memorandum, the countriess will support bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment, industry, oil and chemicals, planning and construction, infrastructure, urban development, transportation, health and production of medicines, food industries and scientific research. Direct flights between Tripoli and Minsk and the facilitation of procedures for obtaining visas for nationals of both countries are also part of the agreement. [Oea, 4/6/2009]

16.(U) Turkish Minister Visits Libya for Business Talks: A 50-member delegation including businessmen from the sectors of construction and furniture accompanied Turkish State Minister during an official visit to Libya. The Minister held talks with Libyan officials as an effort to create new business opportunities for Turkey and to improve economic and commercial relations between the two countries. [world bulletin, 4/22/2009] INVESTMENT 

¶17. (U) Benghazi Business Incubator Launched: The Benghazi Business Incubator program comes as part of Libya's plan to diversify the economy, supporting small and medium enterprises development and promotion. The opening was attended by TRIPOLI 00000365 003 OF 003 representatives of different economic sectors in the region. After Tripoli and Benghazi, a third business incubator program is planned for Sebha, southern Libya. [Tripoli Post, 4/11/2009] 

¶18. (U) The Libyan Stock Exchange Regulated a Specialized Course in Securities Investment: In the context of promoting culture of investment in the financial markets, a session of specialized training programs in how to invest in the stock markets with the public and private companies as well as natural persons was held in Tripoli. The session included a comprehensive training program on financial markets, stock companies and the role of intermediaries in the implementation of the sale and purchase. [libyaonline.com, 4/13/2009] 

¶19. (U) Opening of Libyan Center for Information of Credit: Libya Central Bank announced the establishment of the Libyan center for information of credit as the first credit office for the reformation and development of the banking sector in Libya. The Libyan center for information of credit started its services to the banks on April 15 through its website: www.lcic.ly.com. The center aims at collecting and documenting the personal and credit information of financial borrowers, providing the banks with detailed credit reports; this information will improve the banks abilities to evaluate the risks of credit. [Libyaonline.com, 4/9/2009] IT 

¶20. (U) Contract to Provide Optical Fiber Services in Libya: Libya Telecommunication and Technology (LTT) and the Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co. signed a contract to implement optical fiber technology in Tripoli. Initially 800 houses on the airport highway will be connected and then the network coverage will be expanded to other districts. LTT expects to provide more stable and more advanced broadband services. [Libyaninvestment.com, 4/9/2009] 

¶21. (U) Microsoft Opens an Office in Tripoli: Microsoft Company opened its new headquarters in Tripoli and appointed a Libyan distributor for its programs as a start in the Libyan market. Representatives from Microsoft announced the company's intention to establish a long-term cooperation and relationship with its partners in Libya. [Libyaninvestment.com, 4/12/2009] AVIATION 

¶22. (U) Afriqiyah Airways Achieved "ISO" Certificate and Signed Contracts for New Planes: Afriqiyah Airways Company achieved the "ISO" certificate of IATA. Also, Afriqiyah Airways Company signed a contract with Airbus Company to purchase 23 planes including, 11 Airbus planes A320, 6 Airbus planes A350, 3 Airbus planes A319 and 3 Airbus planes A330. Afriqiyah Airways Company announced that it will start direct flights to: Johannesburg, Manila, Beijing, Guangzhou and Parsifal. [libyaonline.com, 4/12/2009] 

¶23. (U) Biman Bangladesh Airlines to Launch Flight to Libya: Biman Bangladesh Airlines announced the beginning of two new international routes. The Bangladeshi airline will start flights to Libya and China -two of the country's fastest-growing trade partners- next month as it sees a potential increase of air traffic on the routes. Biman will operate bi-weekly flights to Tripoli and Guangzhou starting in May. Demand for air travel between Dhaka and Tripoli has peaked since the Libyan government announced it will hire more than 500,000 Bangladesh workers in the construction sector. Currently, Biman travels to 18 countries around the world. [Financial Express, 4/25/2009] MEDICAL 

¶24. (U) iSOFT Secures Contract with Leading Libyan Hospital: IBA Health Group's Middle East and African iSOFT divisions have secured a two-year $100 dollars deal with al-Khadra Hospital, to deploy iSOFT's hospital information system and laboratory information system at the hospital. iSOFT has collaborated with Alshada Pharmaceutical & Medical Equipment in Tripoli, to install its system through a two-phased implementation process at the hospital. [HealthNEWS.Direct, 4/42009] CRETZ