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Medco to Expand Oil Business to Somalia
Somalia debates law to open oil exploration up to foreign firms
Several foreign oil companies are seeking permission to resume the
search for oil.
Somali parliament debates oil law this week - envoy
Somali PM Ali Mohamed Gedi, left, listens to his special advisor Daniel
Bourzat before giving a press conference on the final day of AU summit
in Accra [3July2007]..VOA... .Somali
Officials Deny Selling Oil Rights
Asia Pulse Pte Ltd Thursday, August 09, 2007
The country's largest private energy company PT Medco Energi Internasional
(JSX:MEDC) said will acquire a stake in the Somalia state-owned oil and gas
company Somalia Petroleum Corp (SPC).
Medco President Hilmi Panigoro said oil and gas business in Somalia is as
attractive as in Libya, the United States, Oman and Cambodia where Medco already
has oil stakes.
Hilmi said his company has received an offer from the Somali Related Products
Project Management for the 21st Century, 3rd Ed.
International Exploration Economics, Risk, and Contracts Analysis government to
buy a stake in SPC and help modernize its oil and gas business.
He said Somalia is drafting its oil and gas law and is in the process of
improving its administration and infrastructure.
When all the process has been completed Medco will start negotiations with the
Somali government, he said.
A report quoting official sources in Somalia said Medco would acquire a stake in
SPC by the end of this month.
(C) 2007 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
http:/www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=48803
Somalia Considering Opening Up Oil Exploration To Foreign Firms
Several foreign oil companies are seeking permission to resume the search for
oil.
By . Agence France-Presse
Aug. 9, 2007 -- The Somali parliament is debating a new oil law that would
pave the way for the government to offer exploration licenses to foreign firms.
Somalia's ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur said the law would also see the
formation of a national oil firm in the country, which is believed to have
hydrocarbon reserves.
"The law is going to be debated today or tomorrow ... I believe that after the
debate it will be passed," Nur said.
He denied a report last month in The Financial Times newspaper that Somalia had
struck oil exploration contracts with Chinese oil firms.
The Horn of Africa nation has attracted several foreign oil companies, which are
seeking permission to resume the search for oil. Somalia sank into chaos in 1991
when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted. Before then, geological exploration
had suggested that Somalia might have significant oil and natural gas, given its
proximity to the oil-rich Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In the final years of
Barre's rule, the northern Puntland region was carved into blocs for American
oil giants: Amoco, Chevron, Conoco and Phillips -- the two later merged into
Conoco-Phillips. But serious exploration was prevented when civil war engulfed
the whole nation.
DUBAI: Kuwait Energy Company is assisting the development of Somalia's oil
and gas sector and has high hopes for the country's future production, KEC's
chief executive Sara Akbar told Reuters yesterday. KEC has a preliminary
agreement with Somalia to take a 49-percent stake in a newly-formed state
petroleum firm with Indonesia's PT Medco Energy Internasional Tbk , Akbar said
in a telephone interview.
I hope we will be able to assist Somalia to become a big oil and gas
producer," she said. It was too early to say what the country's potential output
was, she said. Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, KEC also helped
draw up the oil law and has also provided technical assistance and training, she
said.
The oil law sets up a framework for production sharing agreements between
international oil companies and the newly-formed state company, she said.
She declined to say how the 49 percent stake in the state oil company would
be divided between KEC and Medco and what investment each would make. Details
would not be finalised until the oil law was agreed by parliament, Akbar said.
The law was expected to be debated this week.
KEC would undertake its investment over many years, she said. Government
documents obtained by Reuters indicated that the two firms would acquire their
stake in Somalia Petroleum Corporation on August 31. Somalia remains a
speculative bet for exploration with no proven oil reserves, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration, and only 200 billion cubic feet of
proven natural gas reserves.
In the 1980s, oil majors including ConocoPhillips , Chevron and Total held
exploration concessions there. They left when the nation descended into chaos in
1991. Akbar said she had enlisted the Kuwaiti government's help with Somalia and
that her interest in the country's development was not just commercial. "We
tried get our government to help as much as we can," she said. "Kuwait is
interested in helping other Arab countries, especially those like Somalia that
need help.
Akbar said she is a personal friend of Somali Prime Minister Ali Gedi.
Akbar is a chemical engineer who worked for state-run Kuwait Oil Company and
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (KUFPEC) for 25 years before playing a
role in the start up of KEC in 2005.
KEC is a small independent oil and gas exploration and production company
founded in 2005. It is targeting production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent
per day (boepd) by 2010, from 1,971 boepd at the end of last year. The company
has operations in Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, Russia and Cambodia. KEC is one of
several small private oil and gas companies that have sprung up in the Gulf Arab
region eyeing potential opportunities both within the region and
internationally.
They are part of a wider wave of acquisitions among Gulf Arab investors flush
with cash as economies boom on record oil prices. Regional investors acquired
more than $40 billion in foreign assets in the first half of 2007. KEC is 40
percent-owned by Kuwait's Global Investment House, Akbar said. Aref Investment
Group owns 37 percent. A Chicago-based company owns 15 percent and the rest is
with small shareholders, Akbar added. – Reuters.
Wednesday August 8, 7:08 PM
Somali parliament debates oil law this week - envoy
NAIROBI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Somalia's parliament is to debate a new national
hydrocarbon law this week, a government envoy said on Wednesday, amid
controversy and questions over the status of past and future contracts with
foreign explorers.
"The hydrocarbon law is going to be debated today or tomorrow in the parliament
in Baidoa," Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur, told a news
conference.
"And I believe after the debate, it will pass."
Details of the new legislation have not yet been made public, but industry and
Somali sources believe it will include the creation of a state oil company and
aim to clarify the legal status of deals with foreign explorers.
Somalia remains a speculative bet for exploration with no proven oil reserves,
according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and only 200 billion
cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.
However, in the 1980s Western oil majors including ConocoPhilips , Chevron and
Total held exploration concessions there. They left when the nation descended
into chaos in 1991.
A World Bank and U.N. survey that year of eight northeast African countries'
petroleum potential ranked Somalia second only to Sudan as the top prospective
commercial producer due to lying in a regional oil window across the Gulf of
Aden.
NEWS SOMALI STATE COMPANY
A new U.N.-backed administration, the Transitional Federal Government, is
seeking to restore central rule to Somalia, but faces an insurgency in the
capital Mogadishu and has little real authority yet over the rest of the
country.
Experts say the interim government's "national" oil law may face resistance from
breakaway enclave Somaliland and semi-autonomous Puntland which have both signed
separate deals -- with South Africa's Ophir and Australia's Range Resources
respectively.
TFG documents seen by Reuters this week show Somalia is considering creating a
state firm -- the Somalia Petroleum Corporation -- to oversee the sector. It
would give a 49 percent stake to Indonesia's PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk
and Kuwait Energy Company, the papers said.
Asked about the documents, envoy Nur said: "Yes, that's in the law. We are going
to have our own Somali petroleum company."
But he declined comment on Indonesian and Kuwaiti participation. "I don't want
to predict. We will wait until the law is passed," he said.
Oil has become a controversial subject in Somalia where experts say a power
struggle has emerged between President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Gedi
over exploration rights.
Last month, the Financial Times said Yusuf had signed a production-sharing deal
with China's largest offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd. .
But Nur said no new agreement could be struck until the national hydrocarbon law
was passed by parliament.
"Regarding the Chinese company signing an agreement with the president, I think
the prime minister has talked about that. We have not seen officially any
agreement that was signed by the president," he said.
"The government's decision was that until the law is passed, the government will
not sign any agreement with any company."
Somalia debates law to open oil exploration up to foreign firms
Wed Aug 8, 10:24 AM ET
NAIROBI (AFP) - The Somali parliament is debating a new oil law that would pave
the way for the government to offer exploration licences to foreign firms.
Somalia's ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur said the law would also see the
formation of a national oil firm in the country, which is believed to have
hydrocarbon reserves.
"The law is going to be debated today or tomorrow ... I believe that after the
debate it will be passed," Nur told reporters in Nairobi.
He denied a report last month in The Financial Times newspaper that Somalia had
struck oil exploration contracts with Chinese oil firms.
"The government hasn't signed any agreement with any company. We are waiting
until the law is passed in the parliament," Nur said.
The Horn of Africa nation has attracted several foreign oil companies, which are
seeking permission to resume the search for oil.
Somalia sank into chaos in 1991 when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
Before then, geological exploration had suggested that Somalia might have
significant oil and natural gas, given its proximity to the oil-rich Red Sea and
Gulf of Aden.
In the final years of Barre's rule, the northern Puntland region was carved into
concessional blocs to American oil giants: Amoco, Chevron, Conoco and Phillips
-- the two later merged into Conoco-Phillips.
But serious exploration was prevented when civil war engulfed the whole nation.
Yohoo News Search
Ethiopia rebels warn oil companies to stay away
08 Aug 2007 10:50:02 GMT
Source: Reuters
More NAIROBI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Ogaden rebels warned oil companies
interested in the volatile but energy-rich region on Wednesday not to be lulled
into a "false sense of security" by the government, saying their forces were
well armed.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which carried out a deadly attack
on a Chinese-run oilfield in the area bordering Somalia, said the government had
lost control of Ogaden. The rebels warned oil companies to stay away.
"Pursuing oil and natural gas exploration activities in Ogaden at this stage can
only be characterised as gross corporate irresponsibility given the war crimes
being committed," the group said in a statement.
In the attack on the Chinese-run oilfield in April, the rebels killed 74 people
and kidnapped seven workers.
The rebels say they are fighting for self-determination for their home region.
But Addis Ababa accuses them of being a terrorist group supported by arch-foe
Eritrea.
The government says a recent campaign by the Ethiopian military to uproot the
ethnic Somali guerrilla movement from the oil rich region had been successful.
The rebels deny that.
"Recent claims that the government has been able to realise military gains are
designed to give a false sense of security to oil companies being urged ... not
to abandon their exploration plans," the rebel group said.
The Ethiopian army has deployed heavily in the region in an effort to route out
the rebels and restore order to the region.
"The regime of (Prime Minister) Meles Zenawi does not have control of Ogaden,"
the rebels added.
ONLF warns against oil exploration activities in Ogaden
ONLF Press Release
7 August 2007
Recent sensational claims by the Ethiopian regime that it has been able to
realize military gains in Ogaden have no basis in reality and are designed to
give a false sense of security to oil companies being urged by the regime not to
abandon their exploration plans in Ogaden.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) would like to make clear that our
forces are largely intact, operational and effective. We also wish to confirm
that the regime of Melez Zenawi does not have effective control of Ogaden, a
factor which has contributed to their policy of denying entry to international
journalists and expulsion of the ICRC.
Pursuing oil and natural gas exploration activities in Ogaden at this stage can
only be characterized as gross corporate irresponsibility given the war crimes
being committed against our civilian population.
The ONLF will continue to uphold the principle of justice, democracy and respect
for human rights before oil exploration in Ogaden and as such, we will not allow
this regime to benefit from our peoples natural resources.
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
onlfpress@onlf.org
China's CNOOC wins Somalia oil exploration rights - report
07.15.07, 11:40 PM ET
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China's state-owned CNOOC has been granted exploration
rights by Somalia's interim government, the Financial Times reported.
CNOOC (nyse: CEO - news - people ) met with Somali government officials last
month to firm up details of its survey program, which is due to begin in
September.
CNOOC's rights cover northern Somalia's Mudug region, following a
production-sharing agreement signed in May 2006, which sets aside 51 pct of
potential revenue for the transitional government.
Somalia PM Unaware of Reported China Oil Deal
By VOA News
17 July 2007
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, 04 June 2007
Somalia's interim prime minister says he is not aware of a reported deal that
would allow China's state-run energy company to explore for oil in the
country...
READ MORE...
Somalia oil deal for China
By Barney Jopson in Nairobi
Published: July 13 2007 22:02 | Last
updated: July 13 2007 22:02
The Chinese state oil giant, CNOOC, has won
permission to search for oil in part of
Somalia, underlining China’s willingness to
brave Africa’s most volatile regions in its
hunt for natural resources.
Somalia has
been a no-go area for US oil companies since
it descended into anarchy in the early
1990s. This year the capital, Mogadishu, has
seen its worst violence in 16 years as
insurgents seek to topple a fragile interim
government.
But CNOOC has not been deterred and last
month met Somali government officials in a
Nairobi hotel to hammer out the details of
its planned survey work, which is due to
begin in September....
READ MORE...
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