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An oil exploration request from Texas-based Inter
Global Technologies in northeastern Ethiopia has
been tabled to the Council of Ministers two weeks
ago after a series of negotiations between the
company and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME).
“We expect the Council will approve our decision,”
Alemayehu Tegenu, minister of MoME, told Fortune.
Following the agreement that has been reached after
two years of negotiations, the request has to be
first approved by the Council before the Ministry
and the company sign an agreement.
Inter Global, who is also exploring for oil in
Jordan and has a subsidiary refining company in
Indonesia, is targeting the volcanic area in the
Afar Regional State spilling over the borders of the
Amhara and Tigray regional states.
“No other company has requested to explore oil in
that part of the country before, “Alemayehu
disclosed. “This company has envisaged exploring a
vast area of land.”
The Council was expected to pass its decision in its
regular Friday assembly on January 18, 2008.
However, the agenda was not raised in the session.
Alemayehu hopes a decision would be made next
Friday.
If approved, executives of the company are expected
to come to Ethiopia to sign a concession agreement
with the Ministry. This will make the company the
seventh to enter the country for oil exploration
following White Nile, which took a 29,465sqm plot in
the Southern region last week.
The first and most prominent among them is the
Malaysian Petronas that is undertaking exploration
activities in Gambela and Ogaden areas after signing
an agreement in 2003.
The first American company that entered the country
to explore oil was South West Energy, owned by a
United States (US)-born Ethiopian, Tewodros Ashenafi.
This company, registered in Honk Kong, undertakes
exploration in the Afar Regional State taking a 2006
land concession.
The Swedish Lundi Petroleum AB last year has taken
land in concession in the Ogaden Basin.
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