Shortly after a debate on the possible nationalization of foreign oil interests in Libya suddenly appeared in the official media, the Libyan Head of State, Colonel Muammar Gadhafi, picked up the ball by raising the subject during an exchange with students at Georgetown University in Washington (held via a satellite link). Libya and other producing countries could take a step in the direction of nationalization due to the sharp drop in oil prices, he explained, adding that the subject was on the table and that "serious discussions" were taking place. Colonel Gadhafi suggested that oil should perhaps remain the property of national companies or the public sector, so that government could control prices or production, and even halt production [Editor's note: Colonel Gadhafi is Libya's de facto Head of State and his official title is the Guide of the Great Revolution of the Great Arab Libyan People's Socialist Jamahariya]. "We could refuse to sell oil at very low prices," he declared.
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