Oil Exploration in Somalia

[Tajir]

What I have are mostly pictures. But to summarize, exploration has kicked off in barren northern Somalia for the first time since the 1980s. African Oil Corp., formerly CANMEX, is doing most of the drilling. They have even changed their name to prepare for this project. They tried doing earlier drilling just West of the current location but came under fire from clan militias who felt that their resources were threatened and they have tried to attack again, but were repelled by a much more prepared security team. This is exciting, only a few months ago I was praying for oil like a shepherd prays for rain.

I wonder what will come of this in the unlikely scenario that large oil deposits are found.

[Joker85]

Wouldn't it just provide more incentive for various factions to kill each other fighting over it?

[Tajir]

Wouldn't it just provide more incentive for various factions to kill each other fighting over it?

No. Every clan lives in their own region and they all live hundreds of miles away from one another's territorial boundaries. What this will do is give some clans a very high leverage over others and this will either bring all clans to the bargaining table to talk or give one clan the ability to rule over the country with force.

Either that or the current administration in the Northeastern region will pocket all the money just like they pocket all the port tax revenue.

[Big War Bird]

Discovering oil under Somali would just about the best thing that could happen there.

[Heinz Guderian]

Fast work by the Canadians. Drilling for oil in Somalia. Good luck with that. I'm sure the Ethipion puppet government in Mogadishu will take a small cut too. Who cares if local people who live in the region protest? Their displacement and shed blood will allow me to run my BMW convertible (6 cylinder 325 2 litre 2006 model, thinking about selling it, anyone interested in the UK?)

Happy times.

[Tajir]

Fast work by the Canadians. Drilling for oil in Somalia. Good luck with that. I'm sure the Ethipion puppet government in Mogadishu will take a small cut too. Who cares if local people who live in the region protest? Their displacement and shed blood will allow me to run my BMW convertible (6 cylinder 325 2 litre 2006 model, thinking about selling it, anyone interested in the UK?)

Happy times.

The transitional "president" has already taken his slice of $20 Million just for signing the oil agreement. Many people are extremely confident about the prospects there. Conoco, a well-known and respected oil group, stated great prospects in the region in the 1980s, so it should be well worth it to look.

I think the reserves in Somalia should be quite large as there are great reserves in nearby Somali Region in Ethiopia and in the Aden Sea.

[Shaun]

Discovering oil under Somali would just about the best thing that could happen there.

Exactly. Maybe then the place would modernise a bit.

[antares24]

What I have are mostly pictures. But to summarize, exploration has kicked off in barren northern Somalia for the first time since the 1980s. African Oil Corp., formerly CANMEX, is doing most of the drilling. They have even changed their name to prepare for this project. They tried doing earlier drilling just West of the current location but came under fire from clan militias who felt that their resources were threatened and they have tried to attack again, but were repelled by a much more prepared security team. This is exciting, only a few months ago I was praying for oil like a shepherd prays for rain.

I wonder what will come of this in the unlikely scenario that large oil deposits are found.

meh, i was reading today my last issue of newsweek and there was an article about the winners of the oil and food price rise, i would quote just one line:

of course, oilfields pump out lots of cash but few jobs, and can be a development curse

'nuff said.....
so the situation for somalia and the somalian people wouldn't change a lot, however thinking of it the situation of anarchy is so bad that i don't see how it can worsen.....

[Каие]

No no, now the Americans will be back to 'protect the country form islamists and safeguard democracy and freedom'.

[removeduser_426582376423734]

now the Americans will be back.

Now if we could just find some oil under Darfur...

[Shaun]

There is actually oil in the Sudan, but it's run by the Chinese as far as I know.

[Erik]

I'd say, generally speaking, the more natural resources a country has, the less stable it is.
It's just too easy to use them to buy weapons.

Although I will agree that Somalia can't do much worst.