LONDON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The release of a Libyan man tied to the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, could open a new front in the geopolitical race for oil.
Authorities in Scotland plan to announce the fate of Abdel Basset al-Magrahi by the end of the week. The 1988 attack left all 259 passengers and 11 people on the ground dead.
Magrahi's release would open the door for British energy giant BP to push forward with its $900 million worth of Libyan energy contracts, the Times of London reports.
BP and Libya signed deals in 2007 to explore natural gas fields in western and offshore Libya but were beset by a series of obstacles pertaining to security issues.
Officials who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity said the release of Magrahi, who may receive a compassionate consideration as he suffers from terminal prostate cancer, would unshackle the British energy major.
Britain will rely on imports to meet 80 percent of its energy needs as early as 2015 as North Sea reserves run dry. Libya, meanwhile, needs foreign investments to boost production, down from 3.3 million barrels per day in 1970 to a current rate of just 1.8 million.
Britain is not the only country racing for access to Libya's vast natural resources. Vladimir Putin, then Russian president, visited Tripoli in 2008 to push for oil deals in exchange for $2.5 billion in weapons technology to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Russia aims to increase its global energy footprint, hoping its weapons link to Libya will solidify its North African positions.
"There is certainly fierce competition in the commercial field and I'm sure the Russians are willing to link that to weapons," said Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya.
