Gazprom claims all available Libyan oil and gas supplies

By ANIMA, based on reports by Reuters and Bloomberg

Gazprom, Russia's state- owned energy giant, offered to buy all oil and gas available for export from Libya, in move to take position in the Southern neighbourhood of Europe, its main customer.

Gazprom considers Libya its priority partner in North Africa, as revealed by an official company statement. The group just registered a subsidiary called Gazprom Libya in Tripoli, after the recent opening of its first African office in neighbouring Algeria.

The two sides agreed to start talks on Gazprom buying ``available volumes of Libyan hydrocarbons'’, according to the statement. ``Libya's traditional customers shouldn't worry,'' Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp., said in a phone interview to Bloomberg. ``Gazprom offered to buy whatever gas or oil that Libya has available for selling, or that has no buyer. It is not offering to take all of Libya's production. […]Gazprom is just another customer and they're asking for whatever extra supply we might have. If the price is right, we will sell to them.''

The world's main gas firm is also planning a joint refining venture with Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the construction of pipelines. "(The two) sides agreed to create a joint venture which will involve both modernising existing refineries and also creating new refineries," the statement said.

Libya also offered to build hand in hand with Gazprom pipelines to Europe, while another joint venture project is under discussion, focusing on gas and oil exploration and development.