Hart Van Denburg
Tripoli Rebel by ssoosay, on Flickr
As rebels celebrate in Green Square in Tripoli, fighting continues elsewhere in Libya.
The influence machine in Washington, DC is changing gears.
After years spent working under the radar, public-affairs firm Brown Lloyd James and the consultancy Monitor Group this summer disclosed millions of dollars earned working on behalf of Qaddafi’s government, according to disclosures filed retroactively with the Justice Department.
On the other side of the fight, Patton Boggs and the Harbour Group have signed on with the Libyan Transitional National Council, which the United States, Canada, Britain, Spain, and Germany now recognize as the country’s legitimate government. Both firms worked to help the council gain that recognition after being retained this spring. (National Journal)
Foreign corporations are maneuvering to get access to Libya’s rich oil fields.
Oil analysts said it was likely that oil companies, particularly Total and Eni, would compete fiercely for contracts on the best oil properties, with their respective governments lobbying on their behalf. But first the rebels will have to consolidate control over the country. …
Oil analysts say that most reports from the oil service companies, which continued to pay their Libyan crews through the war, indicate that there has been relatively little damage to most oil facilities. That suggests that production could begin to increase in a matter of weeks. (New York Times)
