Officials said the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi has linked the future
of energy contracts with participation in the NATO military mission against
Libya. They said Tripoli was considering replacing Western energy firms with
those from Brazil, China and India.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed," Libyan National Oil Corp.
chairman Shukri Ghanim said. "If someone stood with you, you cannot tell him
no."
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Ghanim said any foreign government that sought to oust Gadhafi would be
treated differently from friendly states.
Many of the companies that were
developing energy reserves in Libya were from such countries as Britain,
Italy and the United States, whose militaries have been attacking Gadhafi
regime targets.