Abiy Ahmed inaugurates Oil & Gas Projects in the Somali Region

[Arkan]

 

[Arkan]

It’s wild how the gas project in Jeexdin (Calub) stayed out of public view for years, with no media coverage at all, despite phase one being completed.

This is happening less than 20 years after the ONLF chased out the Chinese multinational contractors. Now they want to recoup Ethiopia’s debt to China through Somali resources.

Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oilfield in eastern Ethiopia yesterday, killing 74 workers and destroying the facility, guerrillas and government officials said.

Ethnic Somali rebels kill 74 at Chinese oilfield in Ethiopia

Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oilfield in eastern Ethiopia yesterday, killing 74 workers and destroying the facility, guerrillas and government officials said.

www.theguardian.com

 

[Barkhadle1520]

They're not going to export it but use it domestically to run the fertilizer plant

They wanted to build a 700kms pipeline from the refinery to Djibouti to export but they said recently they dont have the funds so it was scrapped

Galbeed has 7,75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas

 

[El Nino]

Gaalo xun benefiting from somali resources, its a dark day. That place will be staffed by chinese and somalis will not truly benefit from this. No concession from Abiy or the inner clique of Ethiopia.

 

[Burqad]

Where are the knights of JWXO?

https://bhekisisa.org/article/2020-02-24-oil-gas-exploration-by-state-owned-chinese-company-may-have-poisoned-water-ethiopia/

 

[Father]

So much wealth in that region and qoti xun oo orom ah baa iska daldalan doona cid wax ka qaban kartaana ma jirto but I am supposed to believe in Somali people being brave and smart.
My biggest fear is coming to pass walle. It isn't even about stealing the gas or resources anymore. It's the fact that these projects will encourage migration of qotis, xabashas and God knows how many others, into the Somali region and within half a century, you can expect the demographics to fully change.

This must've been how the Somali tribes in the hararage area have been lost over the centuries.

 

[Father]

Where are the knights of JWXO?

https://bhekisisa.org/article/2020-02-24-oil-gas-exploration-by-state-owned-chinese-company-may-have-poisoned-water-ethiopia/

They were destroyed by Somali people, including those from the region they represented. They themselves run a campaign without strong financial and military backing which was doomed from the get go, but they at least kept the region unsafe enough to deter hungry qooti migrants.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

No a single Somali person is involved in this project. Not a single Somali will work there for all intents and purposes. The Somali region will not receive any exclusive benefit from having its resources exploited.

Ethiopia is the enemy and always will be. This has been true for 700 years. Too many Somalis think that Ethiopia has changed or that it will change, it has not and it will not.

The sooner we accept that, the faster we can get our act together. We need to build a strong SNA no matter the cost.

 

[Burqad]

No a single Somali person is involved in this project. Not a single Somali will work there for all intents and purposes. The Somali region will not receive any exclusive benefit from having its resources exploited.

Ethiopia is the enemy and always will be. This has been true for 700 years. Too many Somalis think that Ethiopia has changed or that it will change, it has not and it will not.

The sooner we accept that, the faster we can get our act together. We need to build a strong SNA no matter the cost.

If Abiy were smarter he would give the contract to Hass Petroleum instead of a random Nigerian qadaadweyn who does nothing but fill his pockets. Thank God he’s an idiot

 

[Father]

No a single Somali person is involved in this project. Not a single Somali will work there for all intents and purposes. The Somali region will not receive any exclusive benefit from having its resources exploited.

Ethiopia is the enemy and always will be. This has been true for 700 years. Too many Somalis think that Ethiopia has changed or that it will change, it has not and it will not.

The sooner we accept that, the faster we can get our act together. We need to build a strong SNA no matter the cost.

It's actually worse than ever before now. In the past, it's been Amharas and Tigrays leading the state, both of which share no borders with Somalis. We fought with them, and even if we lost, the Somali region remained 100% somali in terms of culture, language and demographics. Now we have expansionists Oromos at the helm, with a mad daanyeer as their leader. They've already destroyed the Tigrays. The Somali region has seen thousands of non Somali Ethiopians pour in in the last 8 years, and this, if not challenged, will change the region's culture and demographics. Somali people have made their beds, now we must sleep on it. We had so much fucking time to put the past behind us, fix Somalia, and go after our lands, or at least keep qotis away from coming and settling in the region.

 

[Arkan]

 

[Arkan]

Chinese and Habashi/Oromo workforce

 

[New World]

Chinese and Habashi/Oromo workforce

Not a single Somali worker. Sad.

 

[Idilinaa]

I’ve already covered this before: Ogaden will get 60% of the oil and gas revenue , 50% to the regional state, 10% to the area of extraction, 25% to other regional states, and 5% to the federal government.

But I don’t expect people on this forum or loudmouths on Twitter to actually do their research.

Abiy Ahmed showing up for an inauguration is no different than Hassan Sheikh showing up to cut ribbons on projects he had no direct role in. It’s purely political optics.

The real deal was made by the Somali Regional State’s Energy and Mining Office, run by Somali officials who contracted international firms like Chinese companies for extraction. And it’s Somalis on the ground who will be employed in those operations.

My post from several months ago:

I understand the anger , it’s valid to question whether the Somali Region is really benefiting fairly from its own oil and gas. But this situation isn’t like Israel exploiting occupied land.

The key point here is: the Somali Regional State’s Energy and Mining Office run by Somali officials is directly contracting international firms, like Chinese companies, to extract resources. This isn’t a foreign occupation it’s a resource deal negotiated by Somalis in Ethiopia’s federal structure.

And there’s progress. In 2019, Ethiopia passed a law that gives:

Ethiopia’s Somali Region Now To Get 50% Of Oil Revenue​

Ethiopia’s Somali Region Now To Get 50% Of Oil Revenue

Ethiopia’s House of Federation (Upper House) passed a bill that’ll give Somali region 50% of oil revenue from the Somali region. Last year, Ethiopia started producing crude oil in the Somali…

somalilandstandard.com

Ethiopia’s House of Federation (Upper House) passed a bill that’ll give Somali region 50% of oil revenue from the Somali region.


Last year, Ethiopia started producing crude oil in the Somali region but the share the region would get has been contentious issue.

Here is the break down

https://addisstandard.com/news-ministry-of-mines-gives-50-m-birr-collected-from-mining-oil-companies-to-somali-state/

In October 2019, Dr Kuang Tutlan, then State Minister of Mines & Petroleum said a new formula was being devised outlining revenue share between the federal government and regional states where oil exploration incomes are generated from. According to Dr. Kunag, the revenue share formula will see 50% share for the federal government and the remaining 50% will be disbursed to a given regional state where the resource is found.

Out of the 50% revenue to be disbursed for a given region where the resource is found, 10% of it will be allocated for the specific area where the resources is found, while the remaining 40% of it will be for other parts of the region including the specific area where resource is found. Out of the 50% federal revenue, the 25% will be disbursed to other regional states, Dr Kuang Tutlan said at the time.

These funds have already started flowing the Somali Region received 50 million birr, which is being used to build infrastructure like schools and clinics. While small, this is a start. They also produces gas from the region, which is where this initial money likely came from.

The 50 million birr the ministry gave to the Somali regional state will be used to build infrastructure facilities in the region including schools and health facilities

The federal Minister of Mines even acknowledged publicly that local communities must be the main beneficiaries , through employment, services, and direct revenue.

In a Facebook message Minister Takele posted, he said that mining is a national and public resource, he said, minerals wealth is national and public resource and therefore communities should the main beneficiaries. “Communities in the mining areas should also benefit from the mineral and oil resources through employment opportunities and other means,” Minister Takele said.

That said, I agree with ONLF and others who argue the deal still needs stronger reforms. The Somali Region should have:

- More decision-making power over contracts
- Greater transparency and oversight
- Equity in pipeline and processing infrastructure

So yes, criticism is justified but complete rejection doesn’t serve us. The Somali Region has a stake, and the next step is pushing for greater control, clearer revenue mechanisms, and accountability. That’s where the real struggle should focus now.

 

[Idilinaa]

I actually covered this before though about their revenue sharing and the Ogaden will get 60% of the oil and gas revenue. 50% to the regional state and 10% to the area it was extracted from and 25% to other regional states and 5% to the federal govt.

I’ve already covered this before: Ogaden will get 60% of the oil and gas revenue , 50% to the regional state, 10% to the area of extraction, 25% to other regional states, and 5% to the federal government.

But I don’t expect people on this forum or loudmouths on Twitter to actually do their research.

Abiy Ahmed showing up for an inauguration is no different than Hassan Sheikh showing up to cut ribbons on projects he had no direct role in. It’s purely political optics.

The real deal was made by the Somali Regional State’s Energy and Mining Office, run by Somali officials who contracted international firms like Chinese companies for extraction. And it’s Somalis on the ground who will be employed in those operations.

My post from several months ago:

I’ll also say this: people who keep fantasizing about the Ogaden being stuck in ''gumeysi'' clearly have no grasp of its contemporary history.

There’s a reason why past Ethiopian regimes deliberately marginalized the region , economically suffocating it, sending in the military, and barring Somalis from real opportunities. It was a calculated policy to weaken Somali influence and crush any sense of independence.

But since the 2018 agreement, we’ve seen the opposite trend. The region has been gaining more economic freedom, more autonomy, and the ability to shape its own future. Every new infrastructure project, every resource deal, every investment whether small or large strengthens the region in the long run. These developments aren’t weakening Ogaden; they’re empowering it.

What Abiy doesn’t even realize is that he’s basically laying the groundwork for long-term Somali independence. Every deal he allows to be signed, every project he inaugurates in the Ogaden , it’s not weakening Somalis, it’s empowering them.

Somalis in the region are playing it smart. They’re quietly building up their economic and political influence step by step. Infrastructure, resource revenues, local governance , all of it adds up. While Abiy thinks he’s tightening control, in reality he’s helping cement Somali autonomy. He’s too much of a dumbass to see the bigger picture. Somalis are securing their future piece by piece.

You can already see it with how Galbeed is building extensive cross border trade and economic ties not with the Ethiopian highlands or the central addis core, but with Somaliland, NFD, and even to some extent Puntland. Every past Ethiopian leader even Haile Selassie himself knew that the tendency by Reer Galbeed is to drift towards other Somalis, so they made a real effort to try and severe that.

 

[Idilinaa]

I’ll also say this: people who keep fantasizing about the Ogaden being stuck in ''gumeysi'' clearly have no grasp of its contemporary history.

There’s a reason why past Ethiopian regimes deliberately marginalized the region , economically suffocating it, sending in the military, and barring Somalis from real opportunities. It was a calculated policy to weaken Somali influence and crush any sense of independence.

But since the 2018 agreement, we’ve seen the opposite trend. The region has been gaining more economic freedom, more autonomy, and the ability to shape its own future. Every new infrastructure project, every resource deal, every investment whether small or large strengthens the region in the long run. These developments aren’t weakening Ogaden; they’re empowering it.

What Abiy doesn’t even realize is that he’s basically laying the groundwork for long-term Somali independence. Every deal he allows to be signed, every project he inaugurates in the Ogaden , it’s not weakening Somalis, it’s empowering them.

Somalis in the region are playing it smart. They’re quietly building up their economic and political influence step by step. Infrastructure, resource revenues, local governance , all of it adds up. While Abiy thinks he’s tightening control, in reality he’s helping cement Somali autonomy. He’s too much of a dumbass to see the bigger picture. Somalis are securing their future piece by piece.

You can already see it with how Galbeed is building extensive cross border trade and economic ties not with the Ethiopian highlands or central core, but with Somaliland, NFD, and even to some extent Puntland. Every past Ethiopian leader even Haile Selassie himself knew that the tendency by Reer Galbeed is to drift towards other Somalis, so they made a real effort to try and severe that.

Basically what Abiy is allowing to happen is honestly the dumbest move on his part, because Ethiopia’s own constitution allows for secession. An Ogaden that is peaceful, stable, economically thriving, and politically empowered will eventually have the leverage to argue its case for independence and secure it , all while the rest of Ethiopia is descending into chaos.

 

[Zak12]

I’ll also say this: people who keep fantasizing about the Ogaden being stuck in ''gumeysi'' clearly have no grasp of its contemporary history.

There’s a reason why past Ethiopian regimes deliberately marginalized the region , economically suffocating it, sending in the military, and barring Somalis from real opportunities. It was a calculated policy to weaken Somali influence and crush any sense of independence.

But since the 2018 agreement, we’ve seen the opposite trend. The region has been gaining more economic freedom, more autonomy, and the ability to shape its own future. Every new infrastructure project, every resource deal, every investment whether small or large strengthens the region in the long run. These developments aren’t weakening Ogaden; they’re empowering it.

What Abiy doesn’t even realize is that he’s basically laying the groundwork for long-term Somali independence. Every deal he allows to be signed, every project he inaugurates in the Ogaden , it’s not weakening Somalis, it’s empowering them.

Somalis in the region are playing it smart. They’re quietly building up their economic and political influence step by step. Infrastructure, resource revenues, local governance , all of it adds up. While Abiy thinks he’s tightening control, in reality he’s helping cement Somali autonomy. He’s too much of a dumbass to see the bigger picture. Somalis are securing their future piece by piece.

You can already see it with how Galbeed is building extensive cross border trade and economic ties not with the Ethiopian highlands or the central addis core, but with Somaliland, NFD, and even to some extent Puntland. Every past Ethiopian leader even Haile Selassie himself knew that the tendency by Reer Galbeed is to drift towards other Somalis, so they made a real effort to try and severe that.

One thing idilinaa, the law states the Somali Region gets only 1% of the royalty revenue, not total profits. This translates to just 1-3% of the project's total value. The Federal Government in Addis Ababa gets the rest. And the project seems to be governed by Ethiopia's Mining Proclamation No. 1264/2021 meaning it is a binding law that looks like it overwrites whatever it was stated in those news articles you posted.

(Source: Ethiopian Mining Proclamation, Article 64 - Royalty Sharing.)

The $4 billion deal signed with Poly-GCL in (January 2025) operates under the 2021 law, not a blog post from six years ago. You are citing history, not the current reality.

(Credible Source for the 2025 Deal: Reuters: "Ethiopia signs MoU with Poly-GCL for $4 bln oil and gas project"

 

[Idilinaa]

One thing idilinaa, the law states the Somali Region gets only 1% of the royalty revenue, not total profits. This translates to just 1-3% of the project's total value. The Federal Government in Addis Ababa gets the rest. And the project seems to be governed by Ethiopia's Mining Proclamation No. 1264/2021 meaning it is a binding law that looks like it overwrites whatever it was stated in those news articles you posted.

(Source: Ethiopian Mining Proclamation, Article 64 - Royalty Sharing.)

The $4 billion deal signed with Poly-GCL in (January 2025) operates under the 2021 law, not a blog post from six years ago. You are citing history, not the current reality.

(Credible Source for the 2025 Deal: Reuters: "Ethiopia signs MoU with Poly-GCL for $4 bln oil and gas project"

That news article i shared was from the same year, 2021 and the other from 2019 about the upper house passing that bill where a big majority of the revenue will go to Somali Region.

Can you give me the direct link or pdf to this where this is said? Because i can't find it on Reuters to have even reported about what you presented there.

Nor can i find anything about a 1% royalty revenue sharing or about a "Ethiopia's Mining Proclamation No. 1264/2021"

Did you get this from ChatGPT? because i would advice you not to ask AI directly because it can sometimes fabricate plausible information without a verifiable source or link to it. Only use it as a helping tool strengthen or formulate your own ideas and research.

 

[Zak12]

That news article i shared was from the same year, 2021 and the other from 2019 about the upper house passing that bill where a big majority of the revenue will go to Somali Region.

Can you give me the direct link or pdf to this where this is said? Because i can't find it on Reuters to have even reported about what you presented there.

Nor can i find anything about a 1% royalty revenue sharing or about a "Ethiopia's Mining Proclamation No. 1264/2021"

Did you get this from ChatGPT? because i would advice you not to rely on it because usually fabricates plausible information without a verifiable source or link.

I was over at the Somali subreddit when someone claimed that. I was dumb and took it at face value since it seemed credible. I'll try to get it from him to see if he is being genuine or not.

 

[Burqad]

I’ve already covered this before: Ogaden will get 60% of the oil and gas revenue , 50% to the regional state, 10% to the area of extraction, 25% to other regional states, and 5% to the federal government.

But I don’t expect people on this forum or loudmouths on Twitter to actually do their research.

Abiy Ahmed showing up for an inauguration is no different than Hassan Sheikh showing up to cut ribbons on projects he had no direct role in. It’s purely political optics.

The real deal was made by the Somali Regional State’s Energy and Mining Office, run by Somali officials who contracted international firms like Chinese companies for extraction. And it’s Somalis on the ground who will be employed in those operations.

My post from several months ago:

It doesn’t matter what percent The Somali Region (not Ogaden) gets. There will be no extraction of any sort of resources from the Somali region until Abyssinian occupation ends. And that is a firm red line