Puntland oil: unanswered questions

[Adali]

Congratulations, You Won!!!
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by Bilan A. Aden

Monday, January 30, 2012
You know when you get that annoying pop up after you open a web browser saying “Congratulations You Won!!!”? We all know that it's a hoax and there really isn't anything to win, just a bunch of false ads about subscribing to some random products or services. This is how I feel about the new Puntland oil discoveries. Let me give you a little background on the key player. We have the Austrailian exploration and production company called Range Resources. The firm's website click here, mentioned that they have found two hydrocarbon basins covering approximately 20 million acres in Puntland, Somalia.

It was also mentioned in a web video by Al Jazeera, that these blocks could potentially produce about 19 billion barrels of oil in the Puntland region. That’s about 2 trillion dollars of commerciable oil. When the firm's executive Director, Peter Landau, was asked on Al Jazeera how the profits will be split, this is how he broke it down:
Without mentioning any details, monthly payment installments will be given to the local government of Puntland during exploration. A range of 4%-12% of royalties, based on daily production, will go to the government. Lastly, profits will be split 50/50 between the local government and Range Resources.


President Abdirahman Farole of Puntland: Hoax to impress the world and lure big oil companies
After listening to the interview, I immediately had many concerns about this venture. Questions that I believe should have been asked, were overlooked in this short interview. When it comes to production, who determines the cost and under what economy, the Australian or the Puntland region? When that has been determined, who will oversee the minimum cost? Usually, these companies make huge profits by taking advantage of poor countries, and in this case a region where one man controls, the President of Puntland and Australian citizen, Abdurahman Farole.

The astonishing thing is that a small unknown company is informing the whole world that they are going to explore oil in Puntland, while the renown companies like Sinclair Oil Corp., Rodgers Oil Company, and Conoco Oil Company, who have been exploring Somali oil since the 40s, are not in the frontlines of this oil business.

This seems like a hoax to impress the world and lure big oil companies to buy them out, which is another cost added to the future of Somalia's oil business. Furthermore, to make this project seem legitimate, a few pictures where taken of the two areas with equipment staging a lucrative “come buy me” position. Excuse me? Last I checked, technology is so advanced that finding oil takes minimum effort by simply pointing a satellite. It looks to me that they are trying to gas up the hype.

My Last but certainly not least question is how and who will oversee the environmental impact of this oil? Certainly the local government has not established a organized environmental protection agency. The threat of a catastrophic oil spill can be very dangerous to human, animal, and plant life.

We all witnessed the oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, eleven crew members died during the explosion and it took more than 80 days to contain the spill. It cost British Petroleum Billions of dollars in clean-up cost and fines mandated by the government. Their effort to contain the oil leaks were due to the demand and outrage of the US government and it’s citizens. I don’t know who will have Puntland’s back if there is such a disaster. Furothermore extracting commerciable oil in a foreign country requires:
1. A recognized government, which can negotiate on behalf of it's people and environment.
2. A recognized elected Parliament, which represents the people of the land that can rectify the deals and contracts between the government and oil companies.
3. Huge Investment, which requires a peaceful country with a recognized government that can sign deals on behalf of it's people
4. Banks which are recognized by IMF and International Banks, to be able to conduct financial transactions and L/C (letter of credit)
5. Infrastructure and strong educated labor force.

Puntland and Somalia as a whole are lacking all these requirements, therefore no genuine company will consider spending a dollar to explore oil in Somalia. If anything, it all sounds like we have a scam on our hands folks and we cannot afford to fall for it.

[FBISOMALIA]

woow good writing but again who is she

[Adali]

FBI are you complimenting her writing or are you agreeing with her interpretation of the Oil news.

[damu]

This seems like a hoax

My Last but certainly not least question is how and who will oversee the environmental impact of this oil?

[abdisamad3]

This seems like a hoax

My Last but certainly not least question is how and who will oversee the environmental impact of this oil?

[Somalian_Boqor]

This seems like a hoax

My Last but certainly not least question is how and who will oversee the environmental impact of this oil?

[Adali]

This seems like a hoax

My Last but certainly not least question is how and who will oversee the environmental impact of this oil?

I'm assuming you think that is a contradiction but your obviously not confident enough to state so. Why don't you try to state your futile arguments more clearly, i mean " " under two quotations hardly warrants a reply.

[SheikhExecutive]

Very poor analysis and insight on the oil deal and the companies involved. I don't know what parallels can be drawn between the oil spill in the Mexican Golf and environmental risk of the drillings in Puntland. I think she firstly needs to make her mind up on whether this is a hoax or not. I think she is completely undermining a project that has been going through a constant due diligence for almost a decade, these people are not stupid.

Hoax to impress the world and lure big oil companies

[abdisamad3]

Very poor analysis and insight on the oil deal and the companies involved. I don't know what parallels can be drawn between the oil spill in the Mexican Golf and environmental risk of the drillings in Puntland. I think she firstly needs to make her mind up on whether this is a hoax or not. I think she is completely undermining a project that has been going through a constant due diligence for almost a decade, these people are not stupid.

Hoax to impress the world and lure big oil companies

She doesn't know much about oil drilling. comparing onshore oil drilling to ofshore oil drilling..

[Adali]

Very poor analysis and insight on the oil deal and the companies involved. I don't know what parallels can be drawn between the oil spill in the Mexican Golf and environmental risk of the drillings in Puntland. I think she firstly needs to make her mind up on whether this is a hoax or not. I think she is completely undermining a project that has been going through a constant due diligence for almost a decade, these people are not stupid.

drilling and transporting oil has environmental impacts that requires costly controls by the company but also government regulation. Along with the already mentioned political/security risk mentioned on Aljazeera the writer also addresses the environmental risk. inconceivable risk is rightly compared to the Mexican Gulf disaster, but what is worse is neither Puntland or Range Resources can accommodate the environmental impact if disaster struck. BP is not a small almost unknown company and the US government is not Puntland, a regional state plagued by poverty and administered by largely unqualified people, the place even lacks an environmental agency for crying out loud. the parallel struck by the writer if anything downplays the environmental risk factors.

I think she firstly needs to make her mind up on whether this is a hoax or not.

The writer is being consistent, i do not see the contradiction your alluding to.

[AbdiWahab252]

Look if there was oil, there would have been substantial findings in Somalia by the end of the MSB regime. There have been POSITIVE estimations but never a direct hit. You hear of stories from time to time which indicate there is oil but nothing substantive.

If Somalia had oil, we would have been saved from the wreckage of being a failed state.

[abdisamad3]

the state of hutus today.. (niggers can't belive the shit). saying things like "there is no oil those punani pirates are lying its all a scam, there is no oil, what about the invironment..bla bla bla bla..

The state of Puntlanders....faroole is chilling with the big boys signing of contracts building his state, all the elders got brand new ipads all in all these niggaz are balling like maxaa kaa galay..

[gemini07]

why worry about potential environmental damage if this is all a hoax?

yes, this is all a big hoax. range, africa oil,red emperor etc are all fake companies and the pics were photo-shopped. did the editor of hiiraan even bother reading this article before running it?

[Aseelah-Raaida]

Has Bilan written an article on the deal signed by Ali Mahdi to dump nuclear waste in Somalia? On deforestation?
I mean ,she is masquerading as an environmentalist ,right?

[Khalid Ali]

She is just a hater cuqdad u dhimo naagta yaa yidha