-BP controls exploration areas in Libya covering nearly three times the size of Wales 

-UK company Petrofac, convicted of bribery last year, has secured new oil contract in Libya and sponsored British embassy there

-UK is combining its interest in accessing Libya's oil with increasing military involvement

Last month Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) agreed for BP to start drilling for and producing natural gas in a major project off the coast of the north African country.

The UK corporation, on whose board sits former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers, controls exploration areas in Libya equivalent to nearly three times the size of Wales.

British officials have long sought to profit from oil in Libya, which contains 48 billion barrels of reserves – the largest oil resources in Africa, accounting for 3% of the world total.