Global war for oil moves to Somalia.

[burahadeer]

TUE ..... Pacific free press.

28

FEB

2012

Global War for Oil Moves to Somalia

written by Chris Floyd

 

Other People's Blood: New Ground for the Great Oil Game

by Chris Floyd l Empire Burlesque

A few days ago, UK Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a high-profile international conference on the fate of war-torn Somalia. It seemed a bit incongruous at first. Dave -- the Old Etonian toff turned PR apparatchik turned Slasher-in-Chief of Austerity Britain -- is not exactly renowned for his abiding commitment to the betterment of the kind of folks his illustrious predecessor, Winston Churchill, liked to call the "recalcitrant tribes" who burden the earth with their wearisome presence.

 

 

Yet here was Dave -- and yes, one calls him Dave, in token of the hearty, plain-man persona he affects (about as successfully as Mitt Romney) -- emoting his patrician heart out over the need to build a stable future for the people of Somalia. Now is the time for decisive action, Dave declared, to a crowd that included heavy hitters like Hillary Clinton and Bai Ki-Moon:

 

"For two decades politicians in the west have too often dismissed the problems in Somalia as simply too difficult and too remote to deal with. Engagement has been sporadic and half-hearted."

Some Somalis might take issue with that statement. For who can forget (except everybody, that is) the decisive "engagement" that "politicians in the west" inflicted on Somalia just a few short years ago? This would be the Ethiopian invasion and lengthy occupation that was armed, financed, green-lighted and directly assisted by the United States government. The invasion and occupation that killed thousands of innocent Somalis, drove hundreds of thousands into exile, gave rise to vast destruction, social ruin and famine, utterly destroyed the first stable government the country had known for 15 years and fuelled the spread of religious extremism, violent crime and piracy. The invasion and occupation that was accompanied by U.S. bombing raids on fleeing refugees, of U.S. death squads operating in the country, of U.S. agents snatching refugees and "rendering" them back to torture chambers in Ethiopia. The invasion and occupation that was followed -- when the Ethiopians finally tired of their role as imperial proxies -- by further bombing, droning, death-squadding and arms dealing by the Nobel Peace Laureate who took over from his greenlighting predecessor. [For more of this glorious history, see here and here.]

 

 

 

 

Now, you can call this continual involvement a lot of things -- a war crime, a murder spree, a sick and sinister folly, a sinkhole of war profiteering, a deliberate attempt to foment the unrest and suffering and extremism that it is the lifeblood of the Terror War imperium, which requires chronic instability and fearmongerable threats to justify its existence -- but what you cannot call it is a "sporadic" or" half-hearted" engagement.

 

So one perused the stories about Dave's big conference and thought: what's this all about? Why now? It all sounds so altruistic, so concerned and compassionate -- so when is the other shoe going to drop?

 

Well, that Gucci loafer was not long in falling. Three days after the conference ended -- with the proclamation of a grand, bland plan for a "more representative government" to be achieved, in some unspecified fashion, by the warring factions -- the Observer revealed the real impetus behind all the earnest Etonian emoting: "Britain leads dash to explore for oil in war-torn Somalia."

Oil? Oil driving the ruthless geopolitical strategies of western politicians behind a cynical facade of humanitarian concern? Boy, that's a new one! Yet hard as it is conceive of such a thing, it seems to be the case:

 

Britain is involved in a secret high-stakes dash for oil in Somalia, with the government offering humanitarian aid and security assistance in the hope of a stake in the beleaguered country's future energy industry.

 

...David Cameron last week hosted an international conference on Somalia, pledging more aid, financial help and measures to tackle terrorism. The summit followed a surprise visit by the foreign secretary, William Hague, to Mogadishu, the Somali capital, where he talked about "the beginnings of an opportunity'' to rebuild the country.

 

The Observer can reveal that, away from the public focus of last week's summit, talks are going on between British officials and Somali counterparts over exploiting oil reserves that have been explored in the arid north-eastern region of the country. Abdulkadir Abdi Hashi, minister for international cooperation in Puntland, north-east Somalia – where the first oil is expected to be extracted next month – said: "We have spoken to a number of UK officials, some have offered to help us with the future management of oil revenues. They will help us build our capacity to maximise future earnings from the oil industry."

 

...Somali prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said his government had little choice but to entice western companies to Somalia by offering a slice of the country's natural resources, which include oil, gas and large reserves of uranium. "The only way we can pay [western companies] is to pay them in kind, we can pay with natural resources at the fair market value."

 

 

Same as it ever was. The poor give up their resources to the rich, who ... keep the resources and make themselves richer. Sure, they kick back a little gravy to the local satraps, arm and train the satraps' security goons to keep the tribes in line, maybe build up their armies for proxy work; but the wealth and benefits of the natural resources run in one direction -- and it's rarely purchased "at the fair market value."

 

And the resource robbers believe there is sure enough some oil to be had in Somalia. Especially offshore -- where those pesky pirates make maritime mischief. Which is one reason why the United States and others are taking an increasingly militarized line in "securing" the area. The Observer reports:

 

Last month oil exploration began in Puntland by the Canadian company Africa Oil, the first drilling in Somalia for 21 years. Hashi, who sealed the Africa Oil deal, said the first oil was expected to be extracted within the next "20 to 30 days".

 

The company estimates there could be up to 4bn barrels (about $500bn worth at today's prices) in its two drilling plots. Other surveys indicate that Puntland province alone has the potential to yield 10bn barrels, placing it among the top 20 countries holding oil. Chinese and US firms are among those understood to have also voiced interest about the potential for oil now that, for the first time in 20 years, the country is safe enough to drill.

 

Yet it is the extent of oil deposits beneath the Indian Ocean that is most exciting Somali officials. One said the potential was comparable to that of Kuwait, which has more than 100bn barrels of proven oil reserves. If true, the deposits would eclipse Nigeria's reserves – 37.2bn barrels – and make Somalia the seventh largest oil-rich nation.

 

 

The seventh biggest pool of oil in the world? No wonder Hillary and Bai came to Dave's party. For our patricians and peace laureates -- and all the other grubsters atop the world's greasy poles -- that's a prize well worth fighting for. With other people's blood, of course.

 

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[burahadeer]

Turks place thmslvs in good position...good for thm,well deserved.

[burahadeer]

______The Hidden Paw_____

An independent voice for social and environmental justice

Somali Pirates Directed By British Consultants!

May 11, 2009

 

 

 

Excerpts:

 

That’s one thing that reporting about Somalian pirates often misses.

 

"Another thing is evidence that the U.S. has a deep and possibly crucial intelligence network within Somalia that is in contact with the “pirates.”

 

This came to light in November 2008, when ABC News reported on the capture of the Sirius Star, a Saudi Arabian oil tanker. As the network reported “An American businesswoman with connections to U.S. intelligence and the military has been talking with the Somali pirates who have commandeered the Saudi oil tanker” while “the pirates, who have halted all talks with the ship’s owners, are talking to a woman named Michele Lynn Ballarin, instead.”

 

A “business colleague” of Ballarin told ABC that Ballarin “has gone over there for five years on her own, built a network of clan and sub-clan leaders in every region of the country” while she “is greeted like royalty in Somalia…[and] is reportedly known in Somalia as Amira, or “Princess” in Arabic.”

 

According to Military.com, “To help encourage Somalis to patrol their own waters and discourage locals from turning piracy Ballarin has a plan to recruit 500 men and women to serve as a Somali coast guard operating out of Berbera, the country’s major port.”

 

What a kind, extraordinary woman. Or perhaps not. In reality, Michele Ballarin, a horse breeder from Virginia, is also a likely U.S. agent who was flagged in 2005 as seeking to organize an invasion of Somalia. That story is covered elsewhere by myself, and I urge you to read those pieces to get a flavor of how closely involved Ballarin, her business associates and the U.S. itself have been in guiding Somalia back into chaos.

 

Now, a woman involved in launching the war which has devastated Somalia’s people, is claiming to want to save the world from piracy while she has also miraculously conjured up a network of loyalists across Somalia. It’s all very hard to believe.

 

Today’s revelations about the information network linking international maritime organizations, UK “consultants” and Somali pirates may be intermeshed with the operations of Ballarin and the U.S. in Somalia. Hart should be seen as continuing the job that Top Cat were supposed to do, which is to protect the British-American position in Somalia.

 

Somalia, although this is also rarely mentioned in the media, is strategically vital, as long as the Suez Canal is a key part of global shipping. We’ve seen panics about Saudi oil tankers being captured, or Ukrainian arms shipments being sequestered – much of interest passes through the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf is a choke point that can be used – covertly if done well – to exert pressure upon other nations. Hence the importance of the “piracy” issue to global navies, who steamed towards Somalia when things really began to heat up late last year.

 

Mounting evidence suggests that such “piracy” is being managed and manipulated by British and American interests to further their geostrategic aims.

 

We shouldn’t be all that surprised.'"

 

LINK:

 

 

http://szamko.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/somali-pirates-directed-by-british-consultants/

[burahadeer]

By: Geology.com

Somalia map---Somalia Satellite image

 

 

Somalia Natural Resources:

Somalia has numerous metal resources, which include uranium, tin, bauxite, copper, and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore. Other natural resources for this country include salt, gypsum, natural gas and the likelihood of oil reserves.

[burahadeer]

Office In Somaliland

 

NEWS RELEASE

Amman, Jordan, July 10, 2010 (SL Times) - Independent Petroleum Land Services (IPLS) accepts invitation to open a branch office in the Somaliland capital of Hargeysa. IPLS is an oil gas company that provides petroleum land, security, contract procurement, dispute resolution, and advisory services to oil & gas exploration companies in the Middle East and North Africa. The company was originally based in Wichita, KS. USA, but is currently based in Amman , Jordan

IPLS recent activities have been concentrated in central and northern Iraq where the company’s owner Jerry Kiser has been working with provincial governments drafting agreements to promote development of Iraqi fields at the provincial level. Kiser states “that given the security assessment in Iraq vs. Somaliland” I prefer Somaliland. Kiser has worked on and off in Iraq since 2004. He explains that if the security risk is essentially the same that countries will go where the terms are more favorable. “Iraq has to compete for exploration dollars, just like other countries in the same risk category like Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda, or Algeria does” he states.

Somaliland was formerly British Somaliland and declared its independence in 1960. I soon joined the Somalia Italiana to form the Republic of Somalia. This union was never ratified by the respective parliaments and they remained in an informal partnership for 31 years until they separated after the 1991 Somali civil war.

Since the liberation in 1991, the hard won peace that was won in Somaliland was achieved by sheer courage and determination by the people of Somaliland. This was a home-grown peace and reconciliation effort; Not a foreign imposed solution. The people of Somaliland exercised their self-determination in 2001 by ratifying their constitution in a referendum, with local elections held in 2002, and their first Presidential election in April of 2003. This was followed by parliamentary elections in 2005. On June 26th, Somaliland will hold its second presidential election.

Kiser states that his first activities will be to work with the Ministry of Water and Mineral Resources and Parliament to complete the pending oil & gas law, model production sharing contract, and regulatory environment. Activities will include but not be limited to completing a study and plan for the feasibility of forming a national oil and gas company with the new government and a second bidding round.

To date, there have been 21 wells drilled in Somaliland by major oil companies, all prior to the 1991 civil war. Oil and gas shows have been discovered in several wells. All the components for a giant discovery exist in Somaliland with source rocks, reservoir rocks, traps and seals being identified with the presence of both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. Jurassic grabens are the main target in correlation to the oil fields of Yemen. There is a distinct similarity between the Balhaf graben in Yemen which trends across the Gulf of Aden into the Berbera basin. Kiser states that volumetric potential well exceeds 20 billion barrels of recoverable barrels of oil and 5 trillion cubic feet of gas from both on-shore and off-shore prospects.

Kiser sees Somaliland as a success story that is yet to be recognized for its potential. The need to continue self-determination of the people, the need to end the suffering and provide an independent source of revenue from the government is badly needed. The people of Somaliland should be given their future back and not be made to be dependent on foreign aid from international donor countries says Kiser .

[burahadeer]

Latest news is there's land grap spree back home.Diaspora left out:D

[Somalia]

Why did you inject that irrelevant SLTimes article? Man, a lot of people want to prove themselves after Puntland's progres in the field

[burahadeer]

Get out here,we don't need your poison tongue ..ruin every thread with meaningless confrontation

[Somalia]

burahadeer;797192 wrote:

Get out here,we don't need your poison tongue ..ruin every thread with meaningless

confrontation

LOL

 

Ok...