OIL: Libya's 100-Percenter

In oil reserves and volume of production, the North African nation of Libya ranks decidedly behind such major Middle Eastern producers as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. But in ability to send shock waves through the world petroleum industry, Libya stands second to none. Libyans have already helped lead the ten other members of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in doubling per-barrel prices over the past three years. In the past two years, Libya's President, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has nationalized British Petroleum's operations and negotiated a 50% share in Italian oil holdings; earlier this year, he asked...

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