Libya Oil Chief to Recommend BP Stake

TRIPOLI -- Libya's top oil official will recommend that the nation take a strategic stake in beleaguered U.K. oil company BP(BP), according to a published media report.

"BP is interesting now with the price lower by half and I still have trust in BP, I will recommend it to the LIA," Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Co. was quoted saying in a story by Zawya Dow Jones.

LIA is the Libyan Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund.

BP's shares have been battered by the aftermath of the company's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

They touched a 14-year low on Friday, June 25 as investors worried an approaching storm would bring chaos to BP's oil recovery efforts.

> > Bull or Bear? Vote in Our Poll

Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the storm avoided the spill area, and shares gained roughly 7% over the past week, closing Friday at $29.35. The U.S. stock market was closed Monday in observance of the 4th of July holiday.

(In a poll, the largest percentage of readers of TheStreet said if BP shares went back to $25, they would be an acceptable buy.)

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints