BP's (NYSE:BP) Libyan Drilling Launching in November

BP PLC (NYSE:BP) said they expect to start deepwater offshore drilling off the coast of Libya starting in November. That's about a month later than original estimates of an October launch.

According to chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp., Shokri Ghanem, the reason for the delay was extra precautions taken by BP after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

BP will reportedly drill a minimum of five wells in the Gulf of Sirte, going deeper than the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

If another oil spill happened, the resources are available to deal with it if it's mid-size in Libya. Assuming a large oil spill, BP has contracted with the UK's oil response center, which is the largest in the world.

While already a major oil producer, Libya has little deepwater production going, the reason they're expanding into deeper waters. Most Libyan oil production is on land or shallow water.

BP (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Drilling in Libya and Half Year Results

Despite the environmental concerns after the massive oil spill in the Gulf, BP (NYSE:BP) says they're pushing forward and going to begin deepwater drilling in Libya. The well site in the Gulf of Sirte is even deeper than the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reported by the Financial Times, the plans are in the shadow of controversy and BP faces much scrutiny because of its deal in 2007 to purchase Libya's oil and gas fields at the cost of $1 billion.

In other BP news, the company will be reporting their half year results today. It's being rumored that Tony Hayward is expected to officially announce his leaving the company before the results are given. The results are expected to show BP making $10 billion in profits so far for the year, even with the costs of the disastrous oil spill.