Somalia’s management has made a swift reversal on an oil exploration deal signed with a US firm. On Saturday, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed introduced that manufacturing sharing agreements had been signed with US-based agency, Coastline Exploration Ltd.
Ahmed stated in an announcement that the deal was “a huge moment” for the folks of Somalia.
“Recently completed seismic programs indicate that Somalia has the potential to become a significant oil and gas producing country,” he stated in an announcement. The deal would “accelerate our roadmap of hydrocarbon exploration offshore.”
“We are happy to announce that we have now signed 7 Production Sharing Agreements with COASTLINE EXPLORATION LTD. It is a victory for the Somali folks,” the minister stated in a tweet.
Same day cancellation
But with the ink barely dry, each Somalia’s president and prime minister introduced the deal was off.
In an announcement, the workplace of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed stated the deal was nullified. The presidential palace Villa Somalia tweeted that “it contravenes Presidential Decree 7/8/2021 which bans the inking of deals during elections so as to protect public resources from exploitation during elections.”
The workplace of the presidency and the prime minister have a strained relationship however, on this occasion, each leaders seem to have been on the identical web page.
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble referred to as the settlement “illegal” and “unacceptable” and stated in a Tweet: “I will take all appropriate measures to protect our national resources.”
Somalia’s bumpy highway to elections
The Horn of Africa nation is gearing up for long-overdue elections, scheduled for February 25. The highway to the vote has been fraught with violent assaults and political tensions.
In December, President Mohamed suspended the powers of the prime minister over the latter being “linked with corruption.” The nation can also be going through Islamist assaults, with an al-Shabab suicide bomber detonating a tool within the city Beledweyne and killing no less than 14 folks.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
