According to the official reports, British oil company BP confirmed Saturday it would start a deep water drilling program off the coast of Libya in a matter of weeks.

It has been reported that the announcement came as BP continued grappling with its deep water well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and withering criticism over its involvement in the release of a Libyan agent convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Scotland.

The drilling would take place under a $900 million deal BP signed with Libya in 2007. The site is located in the Gulf of Sirte, the site of a 1986 naval clash between Libya and the United States, the BBC has said.

It has further been reported that BP has denied any undue influence in the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi and has reassured environmentalists it would apply lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the Gulf of Sirte and the rest of the Mediterranean.

The Gulf of Sirte is home to turtles and bluefin tuna, and BP has stated it had a multilayered response plan in place to handle any emergencies, said The Financial Times. (With Inputs from Agencies)