TRIPOLI, April 20: Libya's National Oil Corporation and US firm Dow Chemical have announced a joint venture to operate and expand the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex in Libya, the NOC said on Friday.

“The partnership will bring a respected global company and its expertise together with a proven national enterprise to upgrade and produce world-grade products while enhancing the technical abilities of the Libyan workforce,” NOC president Shukri Ghanem said in a statement.

It said Dow Chemical was the first major international firm to participate in such economic development of Libya's petrochemical industry.

Ras Ranuf, on the Mediterranean coast 600kms east of the capital Tripoli, is the country's most important petrochemical complex and was built in the 1980s.—AFP