An oil company holding an exploration licence in an area close to massive Libyan oil fields was denied a permit by the government to drill a well in 2012, the Times of Malta can reveal.

Although Heritage Oil has completed seismic surveys in southeast of Malta, the project is still on hold.

In 2013, there was a public announcement that it was planning to drill a well that year, but when asked why the project had so far not materialised, a spokesman for the Transport Ministry said that “Heritage Oil did not make a request to the government in 2013” to drill a well.

Instead, the ministry revealed that a formal request by Heritage Oil was made in January 2012 but was turned down by the Nationalist government a month later.

When contacted, sources close to the former administration confirmed that the government had decided to put hold the project due to disputes with the Libyan authorities over claims over the continental shelf.

Heritage Oil still holds a production sharing agreement with the Maltese government over oil exploration in Areas 2 and 7 of the continental shelf, but has declined to reply to questions over its future intentions.

Its licence elapses at the end of this year but can be extended.