US oil companies recently met with Libyan representatives and will meet again next week to plan for their possible return to the country, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday.
According to the paper, Abdulhafid Zlitni, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp and the country's top oil official, also suggested in an interview that there might be an intermediate stage between a US freeze on Libyan investment and open doors, if the US government permits it.
In a surprise announcement last month, Libya pledged to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs and allow unconditional inspections, which sparked talk of lifting sanctions on the country.
Lifting sanctions would pave the way for US oil companies, including Oasis Group that includes Marathon Oil Co, ConocoPhillips and Amerada Hess, to resume activities in Libya, which they had to abandon when expanded US sanctions forced them to pull out in 1986.
Zlitni said in the interview with the paper that representatives of the Oasis group met in London two weeks ago with a steering committee from Libya, and they scheduled another meeting for next week, setting the stage for negotiations on terms of how the companies will return.
He expects a meeting with Occidental Petroleum Corp soon after, it said.