Paris: French firm Technip has signed a preliminary contract worth more than $500 million (Dh1.83 billion or €557 million) to rebuild a major oil drilling platform off the coast of Libya, officials said Tuesday. Technip signed the letter of intention in Paris with Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between Libya’s National Oil Corporation and Italy’s Eni. The drilling platform lies in the offshore Bahr Essalam oil field, 100 kilometres from the capital Tripoli. “The project demonstrates the desire of French companies to contribute to the petroleum sector, the backbone of the Libyan economy,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement.