Somaliland to be a party to the Revenue-sharing Agreement for Federal Member States

[Deeq A.]

Somaliland claims to have seceded from Somalia in 1991 but the Federal Government of Somalia counts the Hargeysa-based administration as one of the Federal Member States. The Somali Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed.

Minister Abdirashid M. Ahmed

Attended 2019 India Energy Forum held between 13-15 October 2019 in New Delhi. In an article for the the Economic Times, Mr Ahmed argues the new petroleum law to be passed by the Federal Parliament ” sets out the financial and regulatory framework that enables our Government to finally explore whether reserves of oil and gas exist, as so long suspected, off …Somalia’s coastline.  The revenue sharing agreement embedded in the Law mandates how future revenues will be shared between the federal government, Somalia’s six constituent member states and their local communities.” There are five Federal Member States in Somalia ( Puntland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Southwest and Jubaland.” Mogadishu retains the status of a Federal Capital. Somaliland is the sixth Federal Member State that the Federal Government views as being a party to the revenue-sharing Agreement.

Mohamud Abdikadir Hilaal, the Deputy Minister for Petroleum Ministry, tweeted that Exxon Mobil paid the “first of $ 1.7 Million Rental Service Fee for their and gas blocks in Somalia. The Management of this Money will be guided by the newly Resource-Sharing Model signed by FGS & FMS In Baidoa.”  

Earlier this year the Financial Times reported the  “the [ Petroleum ] Ministry is also expected to honour legacy contracts including the one signed in 2014 by Soma Oil and Gas, which was chaired by former Conservative party leader Michael Howard up until June of last year.” 

© Puntland Post Monthly, 2019

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