ADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas said that legal requirements are finalized to enhance efforts for pipeline installation to transport and commercialize natural gas.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald the ministry Legal Affairs Acting Director Beamlak Alemayehu said that the Ethiopian parliament has approved the law that stipulates natural gas pipeline installation between Ethiopia and Djibouti.
As to him, the two countries have made bilateral agreement to transport natural gas from Ogaden to Djibouti.
Therefore, the approval is supportive to achieve the pipeline installation and natural gas transportation safely and without environmental pollution, he noted.
According to him, Djibouti primarily endorsed the proclamation under its parliament last budget year.
He said that the approval is essential to speed up the installation of the pipeline and enabling the country from commercialization of its natural gas resource.
On the other hand, it is also helpful to enable the natural gas discovering and developing company Chinese firm Poly-GCL Petroleum Group Holdings Limited (Poly-GCL) to escalate the pipeline installation activities, he stated.
The country had announced the discovery of about seven to eight billion cubic trillion feet of natural gas in Ogaden, Somali regional state by Poly – GCLlast budget year, he noted.
Ethiopia also signed an agreement with Poly-GCL early this year to build the 767-km pipeline which helps to transport natural gas from Ogaden to Djibouti.
The ministry had expressed its plan to generate one billion USD per annum from extraction of natural gas and crude oil deposits, it was learnt.
The Ethiopian Herald December 31/2019
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
