Oil and Gas Exploration in Somalia

The Federal Republic of Somalia is located on the eastern part of the African continent. The Somali Peninsula is also known as the Horn of Africa. It has the longest coastline of Africa which is about 3000 km stretching from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Even though the country has the potential of huge oil and gas reserves, offshore and onshore parts of Somalia are not yet adequately explored. The wells drilled in the basins of Somalia have demonstrated a regular increase of both pressure and temperature. This is unlike the marked irregular fluctuations of pressure and temperature in the wells drilled in the Arabian Peninsula. This is another testimony that the potential Petroleum Reserves in Somalia has higher quality than those of the Arabian Peninsula.

Sensational headlines like: ‘Somalia could have one of the largest Oil and Gas deposits in the World’ or ‘Somalia’s petroleum deposits, if exploited, could make it one of the top 7 petroleum exporting countries’ have made the International oil companies to scramble to get their own piece of the pie and secure a favorable concessions from Somalia’s central and local authorities.

Is it premature for all stakeholders to see oil and gas exploration rush to Somalia at this moment of its history? Let us put the current situation in prospective.

It is almost 25 years since the collapse of Siyad Barre’s regime. During this time, Somalia has broken every record of being a failed state. Civil war, piracy and religious fundamentalism have become the norm rather than the exception. The largest migration and Internally Displaced People (IDP) in our history happened during that time. Extreme human and material devastation took  place.

The Transitional Governments that were established with the help of the International community did not have the resources and the will to provide even the minimum requirement for public services. Those groups whose purpose is to destabilize the country have twice succeeded to make a brazen daylight raid to the Presidency and the Parliament House while in session.

Even though there are places of relative stability within Somalia, the international oil companies would be hard pressed to have a secure environment to fulfill their obligations in many parts of the Country.

How can a  win-win situation be created out of the, seemingly, hopeless state of affairs? First and foremost, International oil companies with the help of the  international community have to use their resources and influence to change the status quo of Somalia. It is something doable if we follow these steps:

• Help establish fully functioning governance structure by providing training and facilitation. For instance the Provisional Constitution needs to be revised. The Federal Institutions and Regional Governments should be established in accordance with the Constitution.
• Help revise The Somali Petroleum Law and make it unambiguous where local communities know their roles and resource allocations when oil is exploited
• Help create a trust worthy and functioning financial and monetary structures with its checks and balances.
• Help establish paid training programs for the youth. Many young people would prefer to join these legitimate programs instead of being used by Pirate chiefs and religious fundamentalism.
• Help organize district, regional and national short reconciliation conferences.
• Help train a core, competent and fully equipped Somali National Army, Somali Police forces and the National Security Services.
• Provide economic and security advisers for different levels of Government.
• Help build strong and independent judiciary system, immune of outside interferences
• Help utilize the expertise of the Somali Diaspora. Fully capable and well experienced cadres are available for almost any field required.

Billions of dollars are spent each year in the name of the Somali people with nothing tangible to show for it. We need to focus our resources on our main priorities. The first priorities are: Security and good governance.

When all these preplanned steps are carried out, with clear objectives, making sure that all stakeholders are in tune with it, then undoubtedly the outcome will be a win-win situation where International Oil and Gas companies could do their work in a safe and secure environment.

If these endeavours look like an expensive venture, doing nothing is even more expensive. So let us jointly step up to the plate and implement this initial investment.