To: The High Court of Puntland State
Garowe, Puntland
To: The Puntland Government
To: The Puntland Parliament
To: The Transitional Somali Federal Government
TO: The Council of Elders of Puntland
Case: Amsas Consulting Pty.Ltd. (Dr Ali Abdullahi) Vs Africa Oil Ltd (Range Resources),
Consort Pty Ltd.
Plaintiff: Amsas Consulting Pty.Ltd. (Dr.Ali Abdullahi)
Defendants: African Oil Ltd (Range Resource), Consort Pty.Ltd.
Dated: 11th December 2007
Confidential
Case Summary:
This affidavit that was submitted by Dr.Ali Abdullahi (of Amsas Consulting Pty.ltd) a Consultant on Energy and resources and a senior Somali statesman and a Puntlander, he hereby sues African Oil Ltd and Range Resources:
1. For usurping the rights to resources that would have been under the control of Dr.Ali Abdullahi, TFG or Puntland Government.
2. On grounds of competition discrimination and favouritism by the Puntland President at issuing rights to originally to Consort Pty Ltd a shell company registered in the Maldives with questionable ownership. Considering that Dr.Ali Abdullahi showed interest even before Consort Pty Ltd.
3. On circumventing and breach of contract of payment of success fees by Mr.Lukas Lundin a Director of Lundin Petroleum who is also subsequently an owner of African Oil (Previously CANMEX ltd.) The contract with Lundin Petroleum is available to clarify the issues.
The foresaid Resources cover the Puntland concessions of Blocks 27.28,29,31 and all the offshore area of Puntland. The estimated amount involved in this case is close to 10 billion barrels of oil and gas on a current rate of $88 dollars a barrel coming to a total of $880billion Dollars (the value of other minerals is not included). The chronology of events that has led to the case mentioned above follows.
I have been tolerant for more than 10 years on the best way we could tap our Natural Resources in Puntland, Somalia. I, Dr.Ali Abdullahi tried to respect the “force-majeure” declarations that were declared by original concession holders since going to Puntland in 1997 in search for a Resource Scouting Expendition. I also worked as the Special advisor to the Federal Government of Somalia on Energy and Gas in service to Nation Building but due to political interference nothing was done to revisit the “force-majeure” issue so that original concession holders and prospective companies can be brought in for exploration. Nothing was done by the Gedi administration and he even tried to bring in a Petroleum law that was lop-sided favouring Kuwait Energy and Medco Energi latter he was forced out of office. The Puntland Government also did not call the original concession holders to a conference or even informed them that they will give their concessions to some other companies.
Chronology of Events
December 1996 contacted Vice President of Parker Drilling
I contacted Parker drilling the company that did operations for Conocco in the late 1980’s in Northern Somalia. I requested on whether I could have access to all data that was collected by them but they refused due to confidentiality agreements that they signed with Conocco Somalia Ltd.
January 19th 1997: Dr.Ali Abdullahi comes to Puntland
By then what is now called Puntland was under the control of SSDF headed by General Mohamed Abshir (Hamaan). We had a meeting with him together with Abdirizack Burgal an American trained geologist on the best ways we could revisit concessions held previously by International Oil companies. I advised him that we should create a state with good governance structures awaiting the resurrection of the Original Somali state. I also informed him that we should not follow what Somaliland has done by going for complete independence but look towards a confederacy or a loose federation with Somalia. The General could not understand what I was telling him and he thought that I was advocating for cessation. His answer was “…let us wait for Somalia” pending the Sodere Conference and the Future Bossaso conference that was to be held late 1997. Nothing happened there was no conference in Bossaso due to Hawiye opposition to the proposal in Bossaso.
January 29th – Visit to Conocco Well in Garowe
After being in Puntland for almost ten days I travel together with Ahmed Abdi Jama (Doob) to see what was done at the well site in Garowe Somalia. I took pictures of the pipes and equipment that was used by Conocco for record keeping. On our return to Bossaso I met with Mohamed Elmi former Operations Manager and I asked him of what has been achieved by the then Government and Conocco. The details of that interview are still classified due to the nature of information it contains.
April 1997- Gacayte Hotel meeting with Somali experts:
The real creation of the state of Puntland name came about when we were having a meeting at Gacayte Hotel in Bossaso we were a number of Somali experts including, Dr.Hassan Ali Mire, Abdulqadir Farah Botaan, Abdirizack Burgal, Mohamed Abshir Walde, Hassan Abshir farah and many others.Hassan and Walde were Eropean Union consultants by then. We needed to have an entity for any investments to come to Puntland. That required the creation of structures of governance.
October 1997- left Puntland for Kenya
After realizing that the leaders of Puntland were not prepared to have a state of their own I moved to Kenya were in conjunction with Diaspora Puntlanders living in Nairobi we started the process of the formation of PUNTLAND STATE most credit goes to Mohamed Abdi Hashi (former Puntland President) Mohamed Dheere (DIAKONIA), Dr. Hassan Ali Mire, Mohamed Abshir Walde, Yusuf Gacayr, Dr.Ali Abdullahi and many other business community members of Nairobi.
August 1st 1998 Puntland State was created
In August 1998 at a full sitting of the elders of Puntland, Intellectuals, Diaspora Community members, religious elders, and all interested stakeholders a constitution was adopted pending the creation of a Federal state for Somalia. HE Abdullahi Yusuf was elected overwhelmingly as the first president of the state of Puntland.
March 1999 Nairobi, Kenya (Safari Park Hotel)
Met with then President Abdullahi Yusuf and we discussed on how we could bring in investors to the newly created state of Puntland in the areas of Oil and Gas. At that time Government coffers were empty and the economy of Puntland was not as advanced as it is today. I informed the President that I had contacts with some of the original concession holders and since we had a constitution then we could look at ways of bring back investors pending the creation of a Federal Somalia. He told me that they were in talks with some Chinese company and “…first let us finish with them then we shall see on what we might do together”. I informed him that the areas are still under “force majeure” and exploitation will require consent from original concession holders. Legally it could create a minefield.
JUNE 1999 Nairobi Grand Regency Hotel Nairobi
Met again with HE. Abdullahi Yusuf in Nairobi but this time I told him that I, Dr.Ali Abdullahi will bring along my own equipment, rigs, and technical resources with the option of involving original concession holders via “Caveat Emptor” of which they would lose their rights if they do not take part in the proposed venture together with ownership of 50% going to the Puntland state government.
The President did not call me again so that we might discuss on the best way forward. The Chinese were also scared of the legal consequences and they balked to go forward with any deals. In early 2000 we met again with the President but by then the Arta Process was gaining momentum and Puntland government had security and political challenges emanating from both Puntland and Kismayo.
The Somali Peace Process 2002 October
The Arta Government collapsed and a peace process was staged in Eldoret, Kenya by then I was a consultant on governance and Strategy to IGAD under the late Hon. Elijah Mwangale the chairman of the Somali Peace Process. When Abdullahi Yusuf and his government came to Eldoret I did counsel them that they should opt for a loose Federation or a confederacy initially for 10 years where they could have their own affairs(please see a paper I wrote: Somalia, Salvaging the failed state.http://www.globalpolicy.org).
Hon. Awad Ahmed Ashara, Hon.Abdirahman Farole, Hon. Mohamed Egal, Hon.Abdi Abdulle Said (Jiniboqor), Hon.Kulan and many other Puntland Ministers were present at that early 7.00am meeting for breakfast at the Wagon Wheels Restaurant were I gave them a briefing on what IGAD’s Agenda was on Somalia. I did inform them that the threat coming from Abdiqassim’s government was minimal and that Somaliland should also be brought to the conference. If Somaliland does not turn up then Puntland delegation should be headed by a Minister and the President and Vice President should return back to Puntland giving orders on reconciliation from the sidelines.
October 2004 Somalia elects Hon.Abdullahi Yusuf as President
The election of a President and the existence of a speaker of parliament, members of parliament, ushered in a new dawn for Somalia but that was to be cut short when Abdullahi Yusuf was cornered with the creation of the Stockholm Declaration on 29th October 2004 just after he was in office for barely 2 weeks. Sweden and Italy squabbled over who should run the affairs of Somalia. The EU commission thought that Sweden could do better considering that there were more Somalis living in Sweden than in the whole of Europe. Also another wrangling followed between the UNDP who had been running the affairs of Somalia for the last 15 years and the World Bank on who should run Somalia. They (the so called contact group consisting of donor countries) latter agreed to leave the matter of running Somalia’s affairs to the UNDP. The fragile government of Abdullahi Yusuf did not see the light of day and latter in February 9th 2005 a deadly sin was committed when the Declaration of Principal was signed by Prime Minister GEDI who was inexperienced by then and did not understand what was written on the paper. Abdirazack Osman Juriile and others advised the TFG to sign the Declaration of principal that latter nailed the TFG into the ground since it stipulated that all BILATERAL and MULTILATERAL assistance to Somalia will be channelled through the UNDP.
The TFG then came under the full control of the UNDP and they had to stay in Nairobi until June 12th 2005 when the Kenyan Government called on the Somali government to GO HOME. They held a party for the Somalis at Parliament House in Nairobi; they had to go home with no money, no military equipment, and no assistance from the International community, Arab League, Islamic Organization, IGAD, African Union or any other assistance. They had to learn how to swim in dangerous waters infested with “warlords”, Terror gangs, Islamic Fundamentalist and other hostile clans in Somalia. The TFG was alone and they set up office in Jowhar on 29th June.
This explains to us Puntlanders and Somalis at large that no one cares about Somalia. Why have a conference in Kenya for 2 years, and why spend $100 million dollars on hotels and conferences when the project could not implemented on the ground. The TFG was left alone to die but by GOD’s grace they have survived up to today.
June 2005 call conference with Lundin Petroleum
Ashley Heppenstal, Chief Executive of Lundin Petroleum contacted me via email on the best way they could revisit former concession areas they owned in Block 35 and M-10A most of this areas were under Somaliland but Lundin preferred working with the recognized government of the day which was the TFG.
I advised Lundin Petroleum that I could assist them in revisiting their old concession since I had good contacts with the President of Somalia HE Abdullahi Yusuf. A meeting was set up for early August to take place in Geneva between Dr.Ali Abdullahi and Ashley Happenstal of Lundin Petroleum. I told Lundin Petroleum that I will visit Puntland and discuss the matter with both the President of Puntland and the TFG.
Puntland Visit July, 2005
On 23rd July at Hotel Taar in Galcio I met HE Abdullahi Yusuf and then Mohamud Muse (Adde), together with Minister Hon.Ali Abdi Aware and we discussed that I will bring along technical expertise and funds to start operations for exploration for Oil and Gas. Then there were no Consort Pty.Ltd or any other people who were awarded anything. On 26th July at a sitting of the Puntland Parliament I addressed on the need to have an investment law, land laws, company law and Petroleum and Resources Law.
I discussed with President Adde Muse that for any operations to take effect we need to clear the legal “force majeure” that was imposed by original concession holders. That was simple we needed to have a petroleum law, investment laws, land law, and company law since we had a constitution. It was then to be followed by calling in all concession holders to a conference. If they fail to turn up to honour their concessions then the only avenue open to the government is not to give the concessions to other companies with no proven track record in Exploration and Production but for it to develop by it’s own resources citing the need to satisfying its basic resource needs. I was willing to help Puntland Government in technical assistance.
Meeting with Lundin Petroleum, Geneva (10th August 2005)
At our 11am meeting at the offices of Lundin Petroleum the meeting was attended by Ashley Heppenstal, CEO, Jeff Fountain, Vice President Legal, Christine Batruch, Vice President corporate relations. I did present a DVD that was created by me and a short brief report on the Prospects of investing in Somalia’s Natural Resources. The meeting ended and they were pleased with my presentation and they told me that they will hire me as a consultant to work for them on Somalia.