New oil industry training opportunities may become available in Libya when BP begins drilling in the country's offshore deepwater region next month.

De facto oil minister Shokri Ghanem told Associated Press that the industry must learn from its mistakes but should not scale back its operations in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The country signed a contract with BP in 2007 for its Mediterranean deepwater region and looks set to honour the commitment.

Highlighting the importance of oil industry training and expertise, Mr Ghanem told the news source: "If an air crash takes place, we don't stop air traffic. We have to continue but we take this step to learn more lessons."

The move could create new opportunities for oil workers in Libya, since the country boasts the ninth largest reserves in the world, with many areas remaining unexplored.

Meanwhile, United Way has urged people in Florida to volunteer to help trained BP professionals contain the effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

So far, over 3,000 volunteers have come forward to receive oil training in the state, Volunteer Florida notes.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development