NEW YORK, Dec 30: Three US oil majors have reached agreement to resume oil and gas production in Libya after a two-decade gap, in the latest Western investment in a country once seen as a pariah state.

After stock trading closed Thursday, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil and Amerada Hess said they were returning to their former energy fields in Libya after abandoning the country when US sanctions were imposed in 1986.

State-run Libyan National Oil Corp. will hold 59.16 per cent of the venture in Libya’s Waha concessions, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil will each hold 16.33 per cent, and Amerada Hess will hold 8.16 per cent.

“We are pleased to be resuming our long and productive partnership with the people and the state of Libya in this strategic asset,” said Jim Mulva, chief executive of ConocoPhillips, the biggest of the three US firms.—AFP