BP Delays Drilling Offshore Libya Until 2011 for Operational Reasons

BP PLC today said it will delay its plans to drill offshore Libya until next year, citing a decision not to use its original drill rig for “operational reasons.”

“We’re changing the rig,” a company spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires. “Current plans are to begin drilling onshore and offshore in 2011.”

Libya’s top oil official previously said BP was expected to begin drilling last month.

The company is changing rigs from one owned by Nobel to a new one, currently being prepared in the Gulf of Mexico, which is owned by Pride.

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Source: BP , December 10, 2010;