Foreign oil firms in Libya must take local names

[tolibya]

TRIPOLI (Thomson Financial) - Large foreign firms working in Libya's oil industry have had to change their names to new ones reflecting the country's history and geography, the National Oil Corporation said on Saturday.

'Libya holds the majority of the shares in the local subsidiaries of these companies, so it was fitting that they on take names reflecting national symbols,' NOC president Shukri Ghanem said.

France's Total has become 'Mabruk Oil,' the word Mabruk, which means 'congratulations' in Arabic, being a popular boy's name in Libya.

Repsol of Spain becomes 'Akakoss Petroleum Operations' -- a reference to the Akakoss mountains in the south of the country -- while the Italian natural gas firm ENI has opted for 'Mellita Gas,' named after the region where it operates west of Tripoli.

Germany's Veba has chosen 'Al-Harruj Petroleum Operations' after another southern Libyan mountain range.

The new names, which will be used in all contracts, 'have been approved and the registration formalities completed,' according to NOC officials.

Libya is the African continent's second largest oil producer at 1.7 mln barrels per day. It also has natural gas reserves estimated at 1,314 bln cubic metres.