Oily rewards: Qaddafi has always been an oil man; one of his first moves in power was to nationalize and renegotiate international contracts to take in a better share of the wealth. Exports hit a roadblock during Qaddafi’s darker days, but when U.S. President George W. Bush began easing sanctions on Libya in April 2004, Libya sent its first shipment to the United States in 20 years. More recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the sector, which accounts for 95 percent of Libya’s exports. Libya’s return to the international stage has increased opportunities for bidding, and the country says it hopes to double production in the next seven years. Seen in 2004, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder helps inaugurate drilling by a German firm in the Libyan desert.