Repsol YPF and Total, two of Europe's biggest energy groups, were yesterday implicated in an alleged Libyan bribery scheme after a report for Norway's Hydro found mistakes in paying consultants to secure oil fields in the North African country.

Two senior executives at StatoilHydro - formed last year from the merger of the two groups - also resigned yesterday after an independent report found Hydro had breached company rules. The company handed the case to Norwegian police after publishing the report, which concluded Hydro had paid millions of dollars in "consultancy fees" in the early 2000s.