Libya denies knowledge of Heritage Oil acquisition of Benghazi services company

NOC chairman Nuri Berruien said that he “has not” been approached by Heritage Oil over the acquisition of the controlling interest on Sahara Oil Services (SOSH) which holds long term permits and licenses to provide oil field services in Libya, for US$19.5 million in cash.

Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, Nuri Berruien said that any accord for the transfer of licenses to Heritage would be "null and void" as such a move first requires NOC approval.

It wasn't clear if Berruien was exclusively referring to licenses to explore and produce oil and gas, or for all licenses to operate in Libya.

A Heritage spokesman stressed that the deal with Sahara was for the provision of oil field services, not exploration and production licenses, which he said Heritage would still have to bid for.

Earlier today  Heritage Oil– which holds a joint production agreement with the Maltese government since 2007 - said that today’s acquisition "will help to speed up its drilling programme in Malta."

“Heritage plans to use SOS to assist with the drilling of its targets offshore Malta and  is actively looking to contract a rig to bring forward the drilling of Area 7," the spokesman said.

Heritage established a base in Benghazi this year and has been dealing with senior members of the National Transitional Council, the company said.

It is unclear however, what has changed since the revolution, since Heritage Oil’s operations offshore Malta were threatened by Col. Gaddafi through a formal request to ‘cease and desist’.

In a letter sent to Heritage Oil in 2008, Gaddafi’s former oil minister Shokri Ghanem had warned the company that Area 7 was in Libya’s territory.

Heritage Oil have so far not said what has changed since, and whether the NTC was now renouncing sovreignity over Area 7.

Last month, MaltaToday reported that Heritage Oil was ‘scouting’ Libya amid the revolution that ousted Col. Gaddafi’s 42 year rule, and was seeking lucrative security contracts. However, the spokesman denied the report.

Richard Griffith, analyst at Evolution Securities, said the move "could prove to be a very shrewd investment" by the company.

Heritage Oil shares, however, were down 2.9 percent at 217.8 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.

The company's CEO Tony Buckingham said they are "well placed to play a significant role in the future oil and gas industry in Libya."

"This acquisition is consistent with Heritage's first mover strategy of entering regions with vast hydrocarbon wealth where we have a strategic advantage," Buckingham said.

Besides Malta, Heritage has exploration projects in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Tanzania and Mali, and a producing property in Russia.