Somalia denies reaching maritime resource sharing deal with Kenya

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Somalia denies reaching maritime resource sharing deal with Kenya

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) - Somalia has denied that it had reached deal with Kenya to equally share proceeds of oil and gas sales within the disputed maritime triangle.

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MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) - Somalia has denied that it had reached deal with Kenya to equally share proceeds of oil and gas sales within the disputed maritime triangle.

The development emerged after Kenyan local media reported that Somalia agreed to share the resources with its neighbour in a deal brokered by Qatar.

The Star, a local newspaper based in Kenyan capital claimed reported that the redacted agreement between the nations shows the 50:50 sharing deal is expected to be signed in Doha soon.

The paper reported that Qatar has a major interest in Italian international Oil giant Eni which is carrying out explorations on some of the blocks in the disputed territory.

According to The Star, Total made an entry in Lamu Basin in 2011 when it acquired 40 per cent interest in five exploratory blocks- L5, L7, Lila, LI lb and LI 2 from Anadarko Kenya Co, Dynamic Global Advisors and Cove Energy PLC.

Eni has a 41.3 per cent participating interest while Total has 33.8 per cent.

In a Twitter post, Somali deputy prime minister, Mahdi Gulaid dismissed claims that Somalia agreed with Kenya to resolve maritime dispute case out of court months before International Court of Justice decide the fate of the case.

"Media reports that Somalia and Kenya are in agreement to divide the proceeds of oil and gas 50/50 are baseless and untrue. We are awaiting fair judgement by CJI-ICJ on the maritime dispute,” the deputy prime minister said.

Somalia went to ICJ in 2014 following what it termed as failure to settle the matter with her neighbour, Kenya bilaterally.

The ICJ concluded the case in March and is expected to issue its verdict in coming months.

This month, Somalia announced that it normalized its diplomatic ties with Kenya following mediation efforts by Qatari government.

Somalia had cut ties with Kenya in December 2020 and ordered its ambassador, Mohamed Nur Tarsan, to return home and Kenya’s Lucas Tumbo ordered back to Nairobi. Mogadishu accused Nairobi of political interference, claims Kenya denied.