UK oil major BP became the second European company to impair its investments in Libya, the company announced in its second quarter results on 28 July. The firm wrote off $598mn on its Libyan exploration assets in the Ghadames basin and the offshore Sirte basin.

“In Libya, we recorded exploration write-offs and other costs totalling $598mn in the quarter,” the firm said. “Second quarter and first half 2015 include a $432 million write-off in Libya,” it added. The outlook for BP’s Libyan assets is not promising. “BP has declared force majeure in Libya and there is significant uncertainty on when drilling operations might be able to proceed,” said the statement. (CONTINUED - 2494 WORDS)