THE Somali government and a U.S. company are locked in a dispute over the validity of an oil exploration agreement reached in February in Istanbul.
Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, Somalia’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources, and Richard Anderson, chief executive officer of Coastline Exploration Ltd., signed the agreement. But in separate statements, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmaajo, and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble rejected the deal, declaring it “null and void.”
Both leaders cited government decrees and directives banning all ministries and government agencies from signing agreements with foreign governments and organizations until ongoing parliamentary elections are finalized. The elections are expected to conclude next month with the election of a new president.
In addition, the government has instructed Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud to investigate the contract and take appropriate legal measures.
The government’s position is that the agreement is in contravention of a presidential decree
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