The history of hydrocarbon (oil and gas) exploration activities in Somalia

The history of hydrocarbon [oil & gas] exploration activities in Somalia

[Abdulkadir Abiikar, Petrosom, 2007]

#	date	Researcher/Oil Company and/or organisation	Type of work or activity

1*	2007	Canmex in joint venture with Range Resources in Puntland	Canmex will start drilling for oil in Puntland at the beginning of 2008 in blocks previously awarded to Conoco. [Conoco declared “force majeure” in 1990.]
1	2005	Range Resources obtained farm-in deal with Puntland State. [Range is an Australian firm]. The agreement covers on hydrocarbons and mineral exploration in Puntland.	Range Resources won the exploration and development rights of some blocks originally negotiated by Conoco and other foreign oil companies during Siyad Barre’s regime in the 1980s. At 2006 and after 20 years, many of those exploration contracts expired though the companies declared “force majeure”.
2	2005	East African Petroleum Conference [EAPC] in Uganda for promotion of exploration of East Africa	The presentations unveiled the petroleum Potential and Investment Opportunities in East Africa, in particular the East Coast and Horn of Africa.
3	2003	Rovagold Energy Corp., UK to explore oil in Somaliland in coastal area of southeast Berbera.	Explore, develop and produce oil and gas from blocks 35, 36, M-10 and M-10A, previously operated by Amoco, a company that declared force majeure in 1989
4	2002	Michael Brady’s technical talk at Kansas State Univ. for Kansas Geological Society	A summary of past hydrocarbon exploration activities and the hydrocarbon potential of Somalia
5	2001	Arta Transitional National Government awarded exploration concession to Total-Fina-Elf (French company).	Total-Fina-Elf’s concession consisted of several coastal blocks (12, 9 and 6) previously awarded to Amoco and AGIP, south of Mogadishu from Afgoye – Marka to the delta of Juba River in Kismayo, and beyond to Ras Kiyamboni.
6	1999	Al Consulting, a Canadian firm undertook hydrocarbon potential of the Eastern African margin, studying 11 countries, including Somalia	Al-Consulting produced a hydrocarbon potential report on Somalia
7	1992	World Bank: African Exploration Opportunities: Somali and East African Rift Basins, 1992 · Robertson Research geochemical department carried out the studies.	·A study of the geological setting, basin development and tectonic history, petroleum habits and field economics for Somalia, Ethiopia and northern Kenya. ·Robertson Research geochemistry department (UK) carried out geochemical studies on cores and samples extracted from 27 exploration wells drilled in Somalia. The data analysed and accumulated in database consist of source rock occurrence, type and maturity, along with oils typing and correlation, and oil to source rock correlation.
8	1991	World Bank coordinated initiative launched by AAPG, Eastern Hemisphere Group in London	Encouraging private investment to develop the petroleum potential of 8 African sub-Saharan countries. Somalia and Sudan ranked at the top of the list of the eight.
9	In 5 decades	The Ministry + oil companies + donors from the international community + World Bank	Funded to Drill 70 exploratory wells in Somalia in about 60 years of exploration. Some of them were promising. Currently, Somalia is under-explored and became neglected
10	1991	The National Exploration Archive of the Ministry of Minerals & Water Resources	The archive, stores and the database were burnt, looted and destroyed.
11	1989	Brady et al	Evaluation of Hydrocarbon potential of Somalia
12	1980s
13	1960 - 1990	Ministry of Petroleum, Minerals & Water Resources: Built Stores, archive and database	The ministry built a National Exploration Archive in which confidential and un-confidential documents, cores and seismic data were stored.
14	1988 - 1991	Report on World Bank-coordinated activity, headed by Thomas E. O’Connor, ZR Beydoun from Marathon Oil and others.	The activity was funded by the World bank, UNDP, Canada, France and UK in addition to some western oil companies. The activity focused on regional hydrocarbon study of the countries bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. [Saudi Arabia did not participate]. The study indicated that there is good potential for oil and gas deposits in Northern Somalia
15	1980s	12 International oil companies, including Conoco, Amoco, Arco, Chevron, Shell (Pecten), Phillips and Agip, ENI, sought and obtained exploration rights in Somalia	Oil companies leased exploration blocks in the North, Northeast and Central Somalia to explore and develop oil and gas.
16	1977	Hilal AF, Pvan G and Robba E published the stratigraphy of the Somali sedimentary basins	Geologia stratigrafica della Somalia, Quaderni Di Geologia, Vol. 1, pp. 19 -50, Facolta’ Di Geologia, Univ. Naz. Som, Mogadishu
17	1976	Barnes SU of Sinclair Somal Corporation (1955 -1960)	Geology and oil prospects of Somalia, East Africa, AAPG, Vol. 60, no.3, pp.389 -413
18	1975	Rompetrol of Romania (state-owned oil company)	Considerations on the oil prospects of the Democratic Republic of Somalia; unpublished, Bucharest, Romania
19	1973	Beltrandi M. and Pyre A	Geological evolution of SW Somalia; in Blant G, ED.; Sedimentary basins of S and E African Coast; pp. 152 -178, Ass. Serv. Geol. Afrique; Paris
20	1972	The geological survey team of the People’s Republic of China	Report on petroleum and coal survey of the Somali Democratic Republic; Beijing
21	1972	The Scientific Team	Deep Sea Drilling Project; Legs 23 -25, Geotimes, Vol. 17 (7)
22	1960	Lyons P. and Benison A. of Sinclair Somali Corporation	Somalia: Geological and geophysical report, unpublished, Mogadishu, Somalia
23	1957 -1977	AGIP Mineraria – AGIP Somalia	Unpublished reports, Mogadishu; Somalia
24	1968	Andrews SM; Sinclair Somalia corporation	Unpublished final report, Mogadishu; Somalia
25	1950 - 1970	Oil companies (AGIP and Sinclair)	For 2 decades companies worked actively, though their reports were confidential
26	1960	Azzaroli A. and Merla G.	The geologic map of the Somali peninsula
27	1958	Azzaroli A. and Merla G.	Geologic map of Somalia and Ethiopia, including the Ogaden.
28	1948	In Kenya, Dixey published a report	The Jurassic succession of NE Kenya and the Juba River (the Jubaland)
29	1954	The Somaliland Oil Exploration Company Ltd.	Geological reconnaissance of the sedimentary deposits of the protectorate of British Somaliland
30	1946	C.I. Migliorini of AGIP Mineraria	Geologic studies on the Somali State of Ethiopia (the Ogaden)
31	1933	Guiseppe Stefanini of the National Research Council of Italy	A report + Geologic map of Horn of Africa
32	1925	Guiseppe Stafanini	Compiled a report on the geology of Italian Somaliland (Southern Somalia)
33	1870	WT Blanford of the Geological survey of India	Wrote the earliest geologic report of East Africa, including Somalia

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