2merkato

Tullow Oil announced that it is about to start drilling its first exploration well in Southern Omo in Ethiopia. It is expected that Tullow will start drilling on the first well in two weeks. The explorer has hired a drilling company, and all the drilling machines and other required machines have arrived at the drilling location according to sources.

It is to be remembered that the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines announced that it was in the process of facilitating visas for a Tullow drilling crew that will oversee the launch of drilling processes in October. The crew is expected to be composed of 20 primarily Polish experts.

Artisan Gold Miners in Ethiopia supplied an estimated 2,552 kilograms of gold worth more than 132.7 million US dollars to the National Bank in the first quarter of the current financial year according to the Ministry of Mines.

The gold was obtained from miners in the Benishangul, Oromia, Tigray, Gambella and Southern Regional States said Bacha Fuji, Director of the Public Relations and Communications Directorate of the Ministry of Mines.

The amount of gold supplied by artisan miners in the past quarter was 488 kilograms more than what was acquired in the previous financial he said. The increase in amount translates to an increase of 23.2 million US dollars in revenue according to Bacha.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Mines is engaged in activities to ensure the development of mining and petroleum exploration investment in the country according to Sinknesh Ejjigu, Minister for Mines.

The MoM is undertaking activities to ensure that the sector grows in the current fiscal year she said in a quarterly report presented to the Natural Resource Development and Environmental Conservation Affairs Standing Committee of the House of Peoples' Representatives.

There are plans to conduct studies to better support and coordinate the development of traditional mining as well as to facilitate for large scale mining investment project said Sinknesh. A range of programs have already been launched towards building the capacity of traditional miners and to encourage others to engage in the sector allowing women and young people to be a part of the sector she added.

Various parties from the East African countries of Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda are to hold a regional meeting dubbed ‘Great Rift Valley Energy Summit’ to discuss regional oil and gas potential. The two day Summit is to be held in Nairobi, Kenya from the 3rd to the 4th of December.

It is expected that government representatives, executives of international and regional oil and gas companies and Non Governmental Organizations will take this opportunity to deliberate the regional potential, goals and challenges as well as discussing projects, time scales and schedules planned for the rest of the current year and beyond in developing the regional resources.