Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said yesterday Libya was looking into nationalising foreign oil firms due to low oil prices and suggested Tripoli might also not be able to meet Opec production quotas.

Speaking via a satellite link from Libya to Georgetown University students, he called the current price of oil at $43.70 a barrel yesterday, "unbearable." Last July, oil was at $147 a barrel.

"We would not adhere to Opec's regulations because our livelihood depends on oil," he said, without providing any further details of how Opec member Libya might not be able to reach the oil producing organisation's quotas.

Colonel Gaddafi, who decides Libya's oil policy, referred to recent Libyan newspaper reports on nationalisation.

Newspapers said this week Libya's Basic People Congresses, the country's top executive and legislative bodies, should vote to nationalize oil firms when they meet in the next few days.

"Oil exporting countries may move towards nationalisation because of the rapidly declining prices. This is put on the table and is being discussed seriously," Colonel Gaddafi said through an interpreter.

"Oil maybe should be owned by national companies or the public sector at this point, in order to control the oil prices, the oil production or maybe to stop it," he told students.

"We may refuse to sell it at this very low price," added Colonel Gaddafi. Colonel Gaddafi said he hoped nationalisation could be avoided by a price rise.

"We are facing a difficult situation. We hope that the prices will go up again, say $100 a barrel, so that this idea would be discarded, to stop this idea of calling for nationalisation," he said.

"However, with the decline, this would remain on the table," he said of the talk of nationalisation.