Somalia is pushing for oil licencing round in Dubai

The Ministry of Petroleum is pushing for an oil licencing round and foreign investors as Somalia faces a political crisis with long-overdue elections, Keydmedia has learned. 

News Keydmedia Online
25 June 2021

MOGADIHSU - Abdirashiid Mohamed Ahmed, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, will speak at Africa Oil Week 2021 in Dubai and planned to meet foreign investors as Somalia is seen as world’s last true oil and gas exploration frontiers in Africa. 

Despite the fact that the oil sector in the country lacks critical institutions to oversee and regulate it, and the Federal Members States (FMS) are still not fully on board, the incumbent goverment is pushing for foreign investment.

According to diplomatic sources, the Minister of Petroleum will meet with inverstors from United Arab Emirates on the sideline of the three-day conference in November. 

It's unclear what Abdirashid and the UAE delegation will discuss about, but major oil companies like Chevron and TotalEnergies are also in attendance list for the conference. 

Somalia, which shares the geological structure of the Arabian peninsula, has undeniably petroleum resources, according to experts. 

East Africa is rapidly emerging as an exciting oil and gas province after discoveries in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. 

But U.N. monitors warned Western commercial oil exploration in disputed areas of Somalia and discrepancies over which authorities can issue licenses to companies could spark further conflict in the African nation.

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