British oil and gas company BP is hopeful of making good natural gas discoveries in Libya and plans to begin exploring there later this year, Reuters reported. BP and Libya signed a gas exploration deal last year that marked the return of the world's third-largest fully publicly traded oil firm by market value to the north African oil exporter after a 30-year break. Last year, BP said it would drill 17 exploration wells across a large area of 13.3 million acres with an initial exploration budget of $900m. Libya has attracted interest from international oil firms since 2004, when the United States and European Union eased sanctions following Libya's agreement not to pursue nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.