BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A perilous deal with Libyan rebels at the start of the war there has turned into a lucrative opportunity for energy trader Vitol, a company executive said.
NATO began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in March, isolating one of Africa's leading oil suppliers and exposing the country's infrastructure to the perils of war.
Officials at the rebel-controlled Arabian Gulf Oil Co. said energy supplies dealt by private trader Vitol were "very important" for the fight against Moammar Gadhafi.
A deal to swap crude oil for fuel products collapsed after oil fields were attacked by Gadhafi's forces in May, but officials at the energy company say now, with nearly $1 billion on the line, it was worth the risk.
"It was a gamble, but it was a reasonable gamble," Ian Taylor, the company's chief executive, told the Financial Times.
Vitol since the start of the war supplied Libyan rebels with more than 30 tankers worth of refined products. With international companies such as Italy's ENI hoping to return to their position of strength in Libya, Taylor said his company may already be there.
"We expect to play a role in the future" of Libya's oil industry, he said.
