Puntland warns federal parliament against ‘SOMA Oil inspired’ bill

Puntland state of Somalia has warned the federal government against passing a draft bill for oil exploration and drilling which the regional state believes has been inspired by oil companies like that of SOMA Oil and Gas, the UK based oil firm that is now under investigation by the UK fraud investigator and adversely accused by a UN Monitoring Group.

In a statement issued by the Oil and Mineral Resources Agency of Puntland, the regional government says the bill is designated to grab lucrative oil deals and authenticate previous faulty deals by federal government.

Isse Mohamoud Farah of the agency said they would not accept provisions in the bill and the federal parliament should consider before starting to debate.

The bill is drafted by the Petroleum Ministry, which recently came under the international spotlight for colluding with foreign company managers.

The UN Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea said six officials on Soma’s payroll drew civil servant salaries and that nearly $500,000 was paid to Canadian lawyer J. Jay Park as an independent legal advisor to the ministry.

Goobjoog News