Toronto – This week, Ethiopia claims to have discovered 21.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the Ogaden region in the south eastern part of the country.
The Ethiopian Herald, a state-owned media outlet, on Saturday cited Milion Matheos, State Minister in the Ministry of Mines, as saying that “a survey supported with the drilling of 19 wells in the Ogaden region has confirmed the presence of 21 billion, 336 million cubic meters of natural gas.”
From the government media report, there seems to be a plan for extraction by next year. “We are working to bring the newly discovered natural gas into production as early as next year,” the state minister is cited as saying.
“While some resource exploration projects can take years, we are confident of achieving success in a shorter timeframe here,” he added as quoted by the Ethiopian Herald.
The ministry of mining has embedded a narrative that Ethiopia “is home to oil and natural gas deposits in six different locations, including Ogaden, Mekele, Metema, South Omo, and Gambella.”
There had been extensive media coverage soon after Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in 2018 about the start of “crude oil production” in Ethiopia. It became like a mirage not before long.
In 2016, there was a report about a $4billion natural gas production deal between Ethiopia, Djibouti and China. And in 2019, there was news that Ethiopia would start exporting natural gas via Djibouti in three years. Now in 2024, the Prosperity Party led government is making the story a headline again.
It remains to be seen if the latest story about natural gas production in the south east of the country is a real thing or just the usual propaganda stunt on the part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Source: Borkena
