Wednesday 5 October 2011

Heritage insists Libyan deal is still on

Heritage Oil has countered claims that its purchase of a Libyan oil firm did not take place, blaming "crossed wires" for the confusion.

Yesterday the UK firm announced that it had bought a 51% stake in Sahara Oil Services Holdings, but an official from Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) told Reuters today that it was "too early" for deals to take place in the country, which has suffered a turbulent few months of civil unrest after the Arab Spring.

However, Heritage Oil insists that the deal is complete. A spokesperson told ELN today: "I think there might be crossed wires. There's no issue. The company has the right to bid for licenses in the future. It's certainly not the case that regulatory approval is needed for the deal."