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TRIPOLI, Nov 26, 2012 (AFP)
Libya’s sovereign wealth fund on Monday denied it wants to invest in the troubled Petroplus oil refinery in northwestern France, the official news agency LANA reported.
The Libyan Investment Authority “denies reports on certain media and circulating on the Internet that it plans to buy a refinery in France,” it said, quoting a statement from the LIA.
It said the reports were incorrect and that “the media did not take the trouble to verify them,” adding that the LIA had not even carried out any such feasibility project for such an investment.
France’s Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said on November 5 that he had received a letter from the LIA saying they would like to examine the possibility of investing in the refinery near Rouen, in France’s Normandy region.
In October, a court ordered that the Petit-Couronne refinery be liquidated, rejecting two takeover offers from Dubai-based NetOil and Alafandi Petroleum Group, which is based in Hong Kong.But it allowed the refinery to continue operating for two months.
The minister’s comments sparked criticism in the Libyan media and on Facebook over the LIA’s interest in a “bankrupt” refinery.
