Somalia Petroleum Minister Acknowledges Presidential Decree on the Transition Period

[Deeq A.]

Contradictory: Abdirashid M. Ahmed had questioned the legal validity of a Presidential Decree he deferred to last year.

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The Somalia Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Abdirashid M. Ahmed acknowledged the Presidential Decree that bars the Federal Government from entering into agreements during the transition period.

A video clip in which the Minister makes reference to decree has surfaced. “We expected to sign an agreement on one block [of offshore oil exploration] as our government’s legacy because we have been working on this for five years. I was persuaded that any [production sharing] agreement will have to be signed after the transition when a new government will have been formed” says the Minister in the video clip.

The video clip of the Petroleum Minister’s speech on the Presidential Decree.

The Minister’s view contradicts what he told VOA Somali Service yesterday. “The [production sharing] agreement was signed on 15 February, 2022. No one can deprive the Federal Government of the privilege to sign agreements. The President was working with me on this agreement “ the Minister told VOA Somali Service.

The Somalia Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister annulled the production sharing agreement the Ministers had signed with Coastline Exploration Ltd.

© Puntland Post, 2022

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