Somaliland through its embassy in Nairobi will in November host an Energy and Infrastructure conference in the Kenyan capital.
This is part of Somaliland’s long term mission to woo Kenyan investors in the energy sector to the mineral-rich area that is thirsting for foreign investments.
“The intent of this conference is to give an overview of current ongoing Infrastructure projects in Somaliland and how to create synergy on the various development projects for maximum impact,” Somaliland ambassador to Kenya Bashe Omar said in a statement.
The announcement of the slated conference comes just days after the Somaliland envoy held a meeting with the Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Petroleum John Munyes in Nairobi in which they discussed on ways of having closer cooperation in the energy sector.
The two discussed how they can work together to build their economies through the exploration and exportation of oil and petroleum products.
The two parties also discussed issues on security in the region.
Bashe said in a statement: “As Kenya recently made history by joining the league of oil-producing countries, it was my pleasure to pay a courtesy call to the Cabinet Secretary of Mining and Petroleum at his office, Hon. John Munyes who spearheaded this great achievement.
“We briefed him that Somaliland has become a hotspot in oil and gas exploration and that recently we completed the largest seismic exploration in Africa and that both our countries need closer cooperation on the economic and security front.”
Large deposits of petroleum have been discovered in parts of Somaliland with drilling already ongoing.
Somaliland has 24 blocks, oil six of which have already been put under concession to three companies.
Three blocks have been commissioned to Genel Energy, two to Rak Gas while one will be handled by Ansen Gas.
Genel has stated that initial results have offered sufficient encouragement for a number of high graded areas to be targeted with infill 2D seismic acquisition.
Among the blocks, Genel has been working on is Odewayne whose potential estimates of 1 billion barrels has seen no seismic data acquired before this and remains undrilled although the scale of the basin and comparison with analogue basins suggests the potential for developing a significant portfolio of potentially drillable structures.
Onshore Somaliland is a relatively unexplored region, with few exploration wells drilled.
Somaliland, which has a population of around 4 million people does not get support from international financial institutions but the discovery of oil may turn around the fortunes whose population and the economy largely depends on remittances.
BY ODINDO AYIEKO
