A Good Deal for Somalia
Regarding the article “Report Questions Dealings of Firm Led by British Lord” by Justin Scheck and Jenny Gross (News, Aug. 27), when the federal government of Somalia sought a resumption of oil and gas activity in 2013, all 12 international oil companies holding Somali licenses had declared force majeure as a result of the civil war. In total, the government approached more than 20 oil companies, but none were interested in operating in Somalia at that time.
In contrast, Soma Oil & Gas signed its seismic option agreement with the government in August 2013 and has since spent more than $41 million pursuing its exploration program. We have completed the processing of the 2-D seismic data acquired last year and we are in the process of making this available to the federal government.
As a direct result of Soma’s exploration program, we have seen transformational progress in the oil and gas sector in Somalia, with other companies discussing a resumption of operations in the country.
Bob Sheppard
CEO, Soma Oil & Gas
London
