Ethiopia secured over $825M million in natural gas investment capital last fiscal year, according to a report by an Ethiopian Ministry. The investment capital is related to the granting of a concession for investors in an unnamed natural gas venture.
“During the year, one petroleum development license and one petroleum exploration license were granted. The investment registered from these licenses is 825.5 million dollars,” states the report. The report was prepared by Ministry of Mines reportedly.
The report reveals that a study is underway to determine the feasibility of setting up a fertilizer production plant using natural gas. It indicates Ethiopia has registered a huge amount of capital in natural gas investments.
However, questions surrounding regulatory licensing standards related to a natural gas venture remain as the Ministry is yet to introduce a natural gas development policy and the related proclamation and regulations. It had planned to introduce the legislation last year, but this has not yet materialized.
The recently published report also fails to mention the name of the natural gas investor or the exact location of the investment.
A previous Ministry report mentioned that officials had decided to award a natural gas concession to Poly CGL, a firm that had been conducting exploration works in the Somali region before its license was stripped in 2022.
In June, Ministry of Mines announced the discovery of substantial natural gas reserves in the Ogaden region. It said that a comprehensive survey involving the drilling of 19 wells in the region had confirmed the presence of approximately 21.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Read more..
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