2merkato

Ethiopia has wind power potential that could potentially generate more than one million MW of electricity according to a study.

The first draft of the master plan study carried out by Hydro China Corporation assessed the nation’s potential wind and solar energy said Xu Lushi representing the company.

Wind and solar energy has great potential to meet the growing energy demand and to reduce global warming he noted.

Southwest Energy is in the process of negotiations with the Ministry of Mines, Ethiopia to reach to a production sharing agreement for the exploration area around Jimma.

The company has been in the process of carrying out a petroleum study on the Jimma concession in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines said Tewdros Ashenafi, Chairman and Chief Executive of Southwest Energy.

Southwest has agreed to take over the Jimma block pending some things that need to be finalized with the ministry he explained.

Ethiopia has earned more than 500 million US dollars in revenues from the mining sector in the first three quarters of the financial year according to the Ministry of Mines.

108 million US dollars of the revenue earned was received from the larger companies involved in the sector explained Sinknesh Ejigu, Minster for Mines, speaking at a review meeting of mining stakeholders.

There are 257 licensed mining projects currently engaged in exploration and 137 active in production she said.

The recent discovery of oil in Kenya is indicative for oil exploration in Ethiopia based on the geographical similarities of the two countries according to experts.

Tullow Oil, which extended its exploration activity to Kenya and Ethiopia after discovering oil in Uganda’s Lake Albert Rift Basin, expects to drill the first well in Ethiopia in the third quarter of 2012.

It is expected the first well will be drilled in September according to an expert with the Tullow office in Ethiopia.