Britain leads dash to explore for oil in war-torn Somalia

[alp227]

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.

Riven by two decades of conflict that have seen the emergence of a dangerous Islamic insurgency, Somalia is routinely described as the world's most comprehensively "failed" state, as well as one of its poorest. Its coastline has become a haven for pirates preying on international shipping in the Indian Ocean.

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."

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/25/britain-oil-dash-somalia

[aquart]

1. There's a job I would not volunteer for.

[PuffedMica]

2. Get in quick and start drilling while there is no enforcement of Environmental regulations

No need for any kind of waste water treatment or clean up of petroleum spills. And if a blowout occurs, just set fire to it and drill another well

[saras]

3. That's why they've had no government for so long

It wasn't in the interest of the European nations who fished out their coastline, then used it as a toxic waste dump, that Somalia have an effective government. It wasn't until the pirates got competent that anyone minded. The pirates were ORIGINALLY cattle herders far from the coast. They "lost" their land, were driven to the coast, and told to make a living. They did until industrialized nations moved in. They started by trying to protect their equipment from the big ships, then fighting back when they couldn't fish any more, and as more of the country goes down, more people join and raise the scale of it.

They were, before all this, a somewhat functional country.

[EX500rider]

4. Explain how Europe kept Somalia from having a functioning government?

And over 80% of ocean going fishing vessels are Asian, Europe has under 8% of the total.

% of fishing vessels off the east coast of Africa would be even more Asian.

Who did the pirate "cattle herders" lose their land to exactly?

Any dumping or fishing in Somali waters didn't cause the non-existent government but happen because of it, ie no functioning Coast Guard to enforce local laws.

[FarCenter]

5. Puntland is fairly stable

The only reason to go near Mogadishu is to get some fig-leaf of central government approval to exploit the resources controlled by the de facto rulers of Puntland. Otherwise, the latter can be bribed directly.