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Austrian Companies Hope for Quick Return to Libya
In view of the approaching end of the Gaddafi regime Austrian companies start preparations for an early return to the North African country.
The energy company OMV, which was particularly affected by the crisis, on Monday said that it was currently not in talks with the Libyan rebel council over oil production.
“We are observing the situation and the developments in the country very closely but we are currently not holding any bilateral talks with the Transitional Council,” OMV spokesman Sven Pusswald stated. It is expected that resumption of production will take several months. Last year about 9% of OMV’s total production came from Libya, 33,000 barrels a day. OMV operates not by itself, but is represented by participations in Libya.
Austrian construction group Strabag said it has not yet decided about resuming operations in Libya. “We are watching the situation and will then decide whether and when we will return to the country”, a spokeswoman said. After the beginning of the uprising, Strabag had stopped work in Libya and evacuated slightly more than 1,000 people from the country. Projects worth € 350m had to be cancelled.
Strabag’s competitor Porr was directly affected by the crisis as well. The construction company was building a football stadium for € 200m when it had to have its staff flown out of Libya.