BP Readies Drilling Off Libya's Coast

BP will begin drilling off the coast of Libya in the next few weeks as part of a deal signed in 2007. The news comes as BP continues to face scrutiny for its safety practices in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as well as claims that BP lobbied for the release of convicted terrorist Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi, convicted of plotting the 1988 airplane bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. When embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward inked the deal three years ago, he hailed it as the company’s biggest exploration commitment (a minimum of $900 million) and a “welcome return” to Libya after three decades of absence. The new well is even deeper than the one in the Gulf, whose depth has made stopping the huge leak extremely difficult. A spokesman said BP would apply any lessons that come out of the Deepwater Horizon investigation. Ships began returning to the site of the spill Saturday afternoon to continue relief work, after Tropical Storm Bonnie was downgraded to a depression.