The Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas for Ethiopia’s federal government has inked a controversial deal with neighboring Djibouti. A statement published on the the Government owned state media outlet dubbed Ethiopian Press Agency reveals the agreement is intended to implement a 767 kilometer pipeline connecting the Oil reach Ogaden basin to the port of Djibouti.
Samuel Urukto, Ethiopia’s minister of petroleum stated “the legal requirements are finalized to enhance efforts for pipeline installation to transport and commercialize natural gas.” Furthermore the ministry of Legal Affairs Acting Director Beamlak Alemayehu dwelled further into the deal revealing that the Ethiopian parliament has approved the law that stipulates the natural gas pipeline installation between Ethiopia and Djibouti.
According to government officials and pro state media outlets, the parties at hand in this case which are Ethiopia and Djibouti have made a bilateral agreement to transport natural gas from the Ogaden to Djibouti. These latest development comes after the Ethiopian parliament approved to install a cross border pipeline to transport natural gas from the resource rich Ogaden.
The minister of legal affairs Beamlak Aleymayehu also stated the notorious Chinese firm Petroleum Group Holdings Limited (Poly-GCL) would escalate the pipeline installation via a statement published on the pro government mouthpiece dubbed Ethiopian Press Agency.
The speed in which this shady agreement passed through the halls of parliament and its subsequent endorsement by Ethiopia’s ministry of petroleum leaves behind more questions than answers.
The agreement at hand must be viewed in a cautionary manner before jumping to conclusions or falling for the government’s scripted agenda.
In this new deal, the Ethiopian government did not release any info regarding the specific quantities of natural gas or oil that would be extracted from the Ogaden region, which can easily led to exploitation of not addressed early on.
The same government body that inked the deal, which in this case is Ethiopia’s ministry of petroleum did not state weather they’ve reached a level of understanding with the Somali regional state or the local communities that inhabit the areas around the extraction points for the natural gas and oil.
The enviromnental hazards that come with extracting oil and gas in any nation comes with many risks. The Ethiopian government, at least as of now has not presented any initiatives that prevent or even deter the hazardous affects from the extraction of oil and gas on the local population, environment and livestock.
A key burning issue that hasn’t been addressed regarding this new deal is the financial revenue that will be shared between the parties involved and the financial distribution for the Somali regional state (Ogaden) and the local communities who will be effected the most.
Ethiopia’s federal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have not disclosed there share of the revenue from the Oil extraction agreement, nor have they released figures detailing Djibouti’s share in all of this, let alone if the marginalized Somalis even get to benefit from there own resources.
The ministry of mines, petroleum and natural gas for Ethiopia’s federal government has confirmed the Chinese state owned Poly-GCL will be building and installing the pipeline between Ogaden and Djibouti but has so far failed to provide the earnings which will be made by Poly-GCL for this initiative. It should also be worth mentioning that Poly-GCL is a de facto branch of the Chinese military apparatus.
Hencefourth with Poly-GCL involvement in this circus like agreement, it will have geopolitical ramifications on the Ogaden and Ethiopia as a whole due China’s growing in influence in the region. Especially knowing the Horn of Africa has historically been a playground for the West since the demise of soviet influence in the region during the start of the early 90’s, which will unravel a Pandora’s box that nobody is prepared for.
Therefore, to rush into any controversial deal of this magnitude with not bearing in mind the issues at hand, it would sow the seeds for exploitation, instability and possible conflict in an already volatile region.
Halgan Media Editorial Staff
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