Occidental Petroleum Corp. said Friday that it won approval from the Libyan government to resume operations there in territory the company was forced to abandon in the mid-1980s because of U.S. sanctions on the North African country.
The Westwood-based oil company said last week that it had struck a deal to resume operations in Libya but that it was awaiting governmental approval. The company was among the more aggressive of the U.S. oil producers in pursuing access to Libyan oil fields, winning stakes in exploration blocks this year.
President Reagan expanded sanctions against Libya in 1986, barring U.S. companies from doing business there and lifting exemptions for oil companies, in response to the bombing of a disco in Berlin and other terrorist acts that the government claimed were backed by Libya.
Occidental said that resumption of production in Libya, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, would add 12,000 to 15,000 barrels of oil to the company's daily output.
Libya gave US-based Occidental Petroleum Corporation permission to resume business there for the first time in 19 years. 

The company abandoned operations in the mid 1980's due to sanctions imposed on Libya by the United States.

The sanctions, enforced by Ronald Reagan's administration in 1986, were in response to Libya's backing of terrorist activities. The sanctions were lifted in 2004, giving the US companies opportunity to return.

Occidental is the first US oil company to resume operations in Libya. Daily output from their wells is expected to be 12,000 - 15,000 barrels per day.