Ethiopia is to launch a petroleum development enterprise which will facilitate the development of the natural gas reserves discovered in the Ogaden Basin.
Decision to set up the enterprise was reached after the failure of several attempts to develop the natural gas reserves in the region by granting petroleum development licenses according to a senior official with the Ministry of Miners.
The petroleum development enterprise will offer an opportunity for a joint venture with a reputable international oil and gas company explained the official.
The establishment of the new enterprise, which will amalgamate the currently existing Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise and the Ethiopian Petroleum Depots Administration, was approved by the Council of Ministers recently noted the source.A consultant has been hired to undertake a study on the launch of the new enterprise including its institutional structure he said. The consultant is expected to present findings and recommendations to the government added the official.
The government is committed to extract gas reserves and requires a company that is dedicated to carrying out the extraction of the reserves noted Sinkensh Ejigu, Minister for Mines.
The current plan is to create a joint venture with a reliable company to develop the gas fields and the new enterprise is expected to be involved with the risk prone and capital intensive project that will include additional oil and gas exploration work according to Sinkensh.
The Ethiopian government has opted to jointly invest in the gas development project with an international petroleum company as previous attempts to develop the gas fields by awarding the project to an international company failed said an industry expert.
Source: The Reporter
