The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Republic of Somalia
Somalia reiterates its respect for the maritime area currently under dispute with Kenya
No seismic exploration nor auction of oil blocks in disputed maritime territory
07 June 2019 Mogadishu, Somalia. The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Republic of Somalia strongly refutes recent and wholly inaccurate media reports which claim that Somalia has conducted seismic testing in the maritime area that is currently under dispute with Kenya. Further, Somalia has not offered for auction any oil blocks that fall within the disputed area. In a publicly available document – ‘Offshore Somalia 2019’, which was produced for oil companies interested in partnering with Somalia – the map of available oil blocks clearly demonstrates that no seismic data is available for the disputed area and none of the blocks available for auction are in the disputed area. This information is also available on the website of Spectrum, which undertook the seismic exploration:
http://spectrumgeo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=c25e07e456f0414abcb54abfc1f896b0.
The dispute is currently under review by the International Court of Justice in The Hague; Somalia has consistently committed to abiding by the decision the Court reaches. Until that decision is made and fully ratified, no part of the disputed area will be subject to seismic exploration, auction or any activity linked to oil exploration. Commenting on the issue His Excellency Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, The Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, said: “Somalia will fully cooperate with the International Court of Justice in settling the dispute with Kenya, and has consistently said it will abide by its findings. Somalia will undertake no activity in the disputed area until the Court has determined national maritime boundaries.”
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