The discovery of large reserves of
oil and gas has raised the profile of eastern Africa countries, with the
potential of joining world’s energy producers. But the new found reserves
have brought a bigger problem and triggered escalating disputes among the soon
to be new oil states in Africa.
From the Horn of Africa to the Great
Lakes, tussles over exploration blocks are fast morphing into full-blown
disputes that analysts warn risk slowing the search of oil and gas and create
uncertainty in ownership of tens of billions of barrels of oil.
Horn Petroleum Corporation, a
Canadian oil and gas company, on Feb. 12, 2015 said it was freezing exploration
activities in the semi-autonomous Somalia Puntland until it resolved a dispute
over oil concession contract with the government of the Federal Republic of
Somalia.
“The company has informed the
Government of Puntland (Somalia) that the company will be significantly
reducing its presence in Bosaso, Puntland and will refrain from any operational
activity and associated expenditures pending a resolution of the political
situation between the Regional Government of Puntland and the Federal
Government of Somalia regarding the legitimacy of oil concession contracts,”
Keith Hill, Horn Petroleum executive chairman said.
Horn Petroleum holds a 60 percent
interest and operatorship in the Dharoor and Nugaal blocks within Somalia.
“Given the considerable efforts
taken by the company to date in Puntland (Somalia), the company has requested a
two year extension to the current exploration period from the Government of
Puntland to allow time for these political challenges to be resolved,” Hill
said adding that as at September 30, 2014 intangible exploration assets related
to these properties amounted to approximately $91 million.
Somalia
vs Kenya
Somalia too has another dispute with
Kenya over sovereign rights to use of resources around their shared India Ocean
off-shore border territory where tests have shown potential reserves of gas.
“Porous borders and unsettled
trans-boundary disputes have already created tensions surrounding exploration
for Kenya’s oil and gas,” Patricia I. Vasquez, an oil and gas expert says in
review titled: Kenya at a Crossroads: Hopes and Fears Concerning the
Development of Oil and Gas Reserves.
The dispute with Somalia is related
to the granting of 13 offshore exploration licenses by Nairobi — to companies
like Italian Eni, French Total and US Anadarko — in sea boundaries disputed by
both countries.
Somalia in August 2014 moved to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague to determine the maritime boundary
between the coastal nations, which disagree about the rights for exploration
and collect revenue from oil discoveries.
Somalia asked the court to
intervene, saying “diplomatic negotiations, in which their respective views
have been fully exchanged, have failed to resolve this disagreement,”
Somalia has also petitioned the UN
body that determines international maritime borders to shelve applications by
its neighbours Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen for allocation of additional territory
off their respective coastlines.
Somalia in July 2014 filed a formal
claim for a bigger chunk of continental shelf but urged the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) not to consider applications earlier made by the
three countries until the pending disputes among them are resolved.
“The purported claim by the Republic
of Kenya includes maritime areas claimed by the Federal Republic of Somalia,
thereby resulting in an overlapping area which, for the same purposes,
constitutes the area under dispute” Somalia said in submission to UNCLOS dated
July 21, 2014.
The horn of Africa country said it
is ready to enter into consultations with Kenya with a view of reaching an
agreement or understanding which would allow the Commission to consider and
make recommendations on submissions by each of the two coastal States in the
areas under dispute.
“Pending such an agreement or
understanding, Somalia requests the Commission not to take any steps that would
prejudice any future bilateral delimitation in the maritime area concerned,”
Somalia further said.
Somalia
vs Tanzania & Yemen
Similar caveats were filed by
Somalia against Tanzania and Yemen that also eye larger territory of the shared
Indian Ocean.
“There is a potential overlap
between the Somali and the Tanzanian claims as regards the areas of the
continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles,” Somalia said.
Kenya and Somalia signed a
memorandum of understanding in 2009 that the border would run east along the
line of latitude, but Somalia, which has lacked an effective central government
since 1991, then rejected the agreement in Parliament.
Somalia’s government in 2012 accused
Kenya of awarding offshore oil and gas exploration blocks illegally to several
multinationals because the concessions lie in waters claimed by Somalia. Kenya
rejected the accusation that ownership of the blocks was contested and said
there was no need to hold up exploration.
Both countries have since submitted
separate submissions to the UN agency seeking to claim additional territory on
the shared Indian Ocean border.
According to the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea all countries that border the ocean are allowed to use the
200 miles into the ocean for exclusive economic purposes without interference
from other countries.
Kenya formally laid claim to
additional 103,320 square kilometres of sea bed off its coastline — beating the
April 13, 2013 deadline that was set for the submissions.
Failure to beat the deadline would
have left all exploration and exploitation rights over the territory in the
hands of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).Failure to secure such rights
would also mean that firms eyeing investments in such zones would have to go
through strenuous and expensive processes to secure permission from the ISA.
The provisions exempt developing
countries that are net importers of a mineral resources produced from its
continental shelf from financing the exploration of non-living resources beyond
the 200 nautical mile limit. Kenya and Somalia are net importers of oil and gas
and qualify for the exemption.
Kenya
Vs Tanzania
Kenya is also in talks with Tanzania
over the demarcation of their shared Indian Ocean territory as the scramble for
off shore resources intensified. Tanzania made a late claim in 2012 for its
share of the Indian Ocean territory, delaying the commencement of proceeding to
decide the demarcation of the extra sea bed claimed by Kenya and Somalia.
Kenya, by virtue of sharing a common
border with Tanzania, it had to await Tanzania’s final submission to get the
UN’s verdict on its application because the arbiter must receive all
applications from neighbouring states to demarcate the new borders.
In yet another feud, Tanzania has
been caught in a long-time territorial dispute with Malawi concerning Lake
Malawi, thought to sit over highly coveted oil and gas reserves.
Malawi claims sovereignty over the
entirety of Africa’s third largest lake, while Tanzania says 50 percent is part
of its territory. The row could worsen if significant oil and gas discoveries
are made.
Tensions along the border between
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda have also risen over the last
decade following the discovery of massive oil and gas reserves around the Lake
Albert region.
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