UPDATE 1-Gaddafi says looks at nationalization of oil firms

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Wednesday Libya was looking into nationalizing 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 on Wednesday, "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 organization's quotas.

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

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 nationalization because of the rapidly declining prices. This is put on the table and is being discussed seriously," 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 Gaddafi.

Gaddafi said he hoped nationalization 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 nationalization," he said.

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

Reports of nationalization come after Libya's state-owned National Oil Corporation released a report for 2008, suggesting officials want to modify current oil policy based mainly on production sharing agreements.