The Ogaden Basin is an area of

Huwan Ciid or 'Iid ( so, Arlo Ciideed) is an archaic native geographic name for the land between the region of Mudug and the Nugaal Valley, roughly congruous with the northern Bookh district in Ethiopia. As such, Ciid constitutes the tripoint of the f ...

that may hold significant reserves of crude oil and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. The basin covers an area of some 350,000 square kilometres (135,000 square miles) and is formed from

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s up to 10,000 meters (6 miles) thick. It has

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

similarities to other

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

-rich basins in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Hydrocarbon exploration and development (Ogadenia)

The first exploration in the basin was undertaken by Standard Oil in 1920 More recent exploration by

Tenneco Tenneco (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a Fortune 5 ...

resulted in the discovery of an estimated 68 million cubic metres (2.4 billion cubic feet) of gas in 1974. Development of the reserves in the basin's Jeexdin and Elale gas fields is being carried out by the Gazoil Ethiopia Project, a joint-venture partnership between the government of Ethiopia and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

-based Sicor announced in December 1999. The basin has been divided into 21 blocks, and exploration rights have been awarded for many of them. Companies with concessions in the basin include Netherlands registered Pexco Exploration, Petronas (Malaysia), Lundin East Africa (Sweden), SouthWest Energy Ltd. (Hong Kong), and Afar Explorer (USA).

Political instability and armed conflict

The Ogaden War between Ethiopia and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

took place for the control of the region between 1977 and 1978, with a further clash in 1988. In recent years the armed wing of the

Ogaden National Liberation Front The Ogaden National Liberation Front (abbreviated ONLF, so, Jabhadda Wadaniga Xoreynta Ogaadeeniya; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير أوجادين) is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to ...

(ONLF) has been active, and the rebel group has stated that they will not allow the resources of the region to be exploited, urging international oil companies not to sign agreements with the Ethiopian government. On April 24, 2007, members of the ONLF attacked and destroyed an oil exploration facility within the basin near

Obala Obala is a town in Cameroon's Centre Province, ca 45 km north of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Overview The town is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese and hosts a military academy. Tourists in Obala may visit the somewhat derelict L ...

and Abole, killing approximately 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese nationals in the Abole raid. The facility was being operated by the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, a subsidiary of

Sinopec China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (中国石油化工股份有限公司) or Sinopec (), is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Beijing. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai. Sinopec Limited's parent, Sinopec ...

, on behalf of Petronas.

External links

Geological Survey of EthiopiaFuture of the Energy Sector in EthiopiaLundin: Etheopian operations

References

{{coord missing, Ethiopia Sedimentary basins of Africa Geology of Ethiopia Natural gas fields in Ethiopia Oil fields in Ethiopia Somali Region Ogaden

Hydrocarbon exploration and development (Ogadenia)

Political instability and armed conflict

See also

External links

References