ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s dictatorial regime and U.S.-based Trans Global Petroleum on Wednesday signed an exploration and production sharing deal for the Horn of Africa country’s Greater Afar Block.
“The agreement … provides exclusive right for the company to engage in exploration and development of petroleum covering 109,304 square km (42,200 square mile) in Afar commonly known as Afar Triple Junction, Tigray and the Amhara regions,” Minister of Mines Alemayehu Tegenu said at the signing ceremony.
“The basins have potentials of hydrocarbon habitat,” he said.
The exploration will last four years and can be extended twice while the development and production period is set at 25 years with a possible extension, according to the agreement.
Nick Abraham, president and general manager of Trans Global Petroleum, said his company views “Ethiopia as a perspective country for petroleum deposits that only requires serious and effective work to unlock the resources.”
Trans Global Petroleum is the third American company to sign a petroleum exploration agreement with Ethiopia this year.
Falcon Petroleum Limited initialed a deal for the Abay (Nile Basin) in the Amhara region in August.
Titan Resources Corporation also signed an agreement for the exploration of petroleum in Abay and the Ogaden Basin in Somali region in August, the ministry said.
About 15 international companies including Malaysia’s Petronas are engaged in oil exploration in different parts of the country.
Seeing as how I’m absolutely terrible at this whole blog thing I have the impression that most of you do not know where I was last week. Well, to keep you updated, I was in ETHIOPIA!!! that’s right, as if being in Malawi wasn’t lucky enough, I was able to take a break from work and visit my friend Roger in Addis Ababa for a little over a week. So much to talk about…
I arrived in Addis with my friends Anne and Carl on the 19th. We spent the weekend eating really good food, staying out way too late with Roger’s new friend Tedy, shopping at nice shops, drinking phenomenal coffee, and all around enjoying the busy city that is Addis. Highlights from the weekend:
An intense night of shoulder shaking on Saturday night. Just when I thought I had semi-mastered the Malawi hip-shake I go to Ethiopia where the object of dancing is to keep your lower body still and move you shoulders in ways that make you wonder if they’re really attached. As you may guess, I’m not so good…
Roger has befriended a movie producer named Tedy and he was kind enough to take us out to all of the happening clubs in Addis. We ended up eating injera and meat at 3:30 am and going to bed around 6:30 am. whew!
Drinking at least a liter of machiatos in cafes. Ethiopia is not only the original home of the coffee bean but it also used to be occupied (though not colonized) by Italy, the result: a fantastic assortment of really tasty coffee drinks served at charming cafes. The going price of a machiato? about 3 birr which equals about 35cents, why not have 2 or 3 in one sitting?
Shopping shopping shopping. While I adore Lilongwe, there is something to be said about going into a store and the owners having more than one pair of those shoes that you want in stock. The odds of finding my size in Addis were much, much better.
Enjoying traditional Ethiopian food and honey wine in a fantastic restaurant with live music and dancers! Not to offend my regular Ethiopian restaurant in Boston but this was honestly the best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had. I’m already craving injera… (watch for a video posting of the amazing dancing soon)
And shopping for beautiful handwoven cotten fabrics outside of town. I ended up with 5 new scarves to add to my wardrobe. Now seeing as how I don’t really wear scarves, owning 5 of them seems a bit silly but perhaps they’ll be making an entry into my daily wear soon!
Sadly Anne and Carl had to return to Lilongwe on Tuesday so I was left to roam the streets of Addis while Rog was at work. I think I did okay. Roger’s taxi driver, Mulugeta was kind enough to take me to Mt. Entoto for a day. This mountain lies right outside of the city and has some really old Ethiopian Orthodox churches on top in addition to Emperor Menelik’s ‘palace.’ The countryside was beautiful and green and the road was covered with mules and women carrying extremely heavy loads up and down, to and from town.
A majority of Ethiopians are Orthodox Christian and very religious, touring the churches is one of the main activies. I became facinated with the artistic depictions of Bible stories painted on the walls inside (painted around the 16th century). A bit graphic for church don’t you think?
Mulugeta then took me to Mercato. The largest market in Eastern/Southern Africa. We all know how much I love markets and this one was no exception, but due to the enormous size it was very helpful to have a guide. It is said that you can buy anything at this market, from AK-47s to potatoes and goats. I myself stuck to incense, spices, raw coffee and jewelry. Thanks to Mulugeta I got some pretty good deals and learned a ton about what that white powdery stuff is and what the many uses are for berebery spice.
I also visited a few museums while in Addis, one of which contains the skeleton of Lucy (the oldest skeleton every found). These museums were extremely interesting as Ethiopia is not only the cradle of human existence but also home to some 87 tribes, each with distinct cultural practices and ways of life. The only thing better would have been to travel out to each tribe and spend a few weeks learning how to stretch my lip around a lip plug or grind up tef to make injera. Now I’ve got a plan for my next visit!
On Friday Rog and I traveled up north to do a bit of touristy sight-seeing. First we flew to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, home to tons of monestaries and really devout monks. We took a tour of a few of the monestaries (at least the ones I was allowed in to, some don’t allow women to even set foot on the island so as not to “tempt” the monks). Most of the monestaries are located on islands or peninsulas around the lake so our transport consisted of a boat and a few bumps. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile so after a few churches we took a car and a short hike to the Blue Nile Falls where we marveled at the amount of water pouring over the edge (and of course the surrounding wildlife).
Sadly we discovered that the falls don’t always appear so grand. The recent installation of an electric power plant next to the river usually diverts the water to produce electricity for the surrounding towns, diminishing the great falls to a mere trickle on most days (we just happened to be lucky enough to come on a day where the falls were “switched on”). Of course the environmentalist in me is mourning the loss of rare ecosystems and animal life below the falls, but the development dork in me has witnessed the enormous benefits that electricity can bring to human lives. Hmmm, a bit of a conundrum I’d say. Anywho, now that I’ve seen the Nile, my next task is to float down it!
From Bahir Dar we flew to beautiful Lalibela, a town located high in the hills of Ethiopia that happens to be home to amazing feats of architectural genious. a.k.a the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. We spent the majority of our day climbing around rocks that doubled as churches. According to our guide, most of the churches were believed to have been carved in the 13th century, around 800 years ago. And all of them are carved out of a single rock, some are free-standing, others attached to walls like caves, all of them are absolutely stunning. It was crazy to wonder around among ancient buildings that must have taken millions of man-hours to construct, some with intensely intricate carving detail and decoration.
Most of the churches were dug down from ground level and go some 12 meters under ground, connected by super dark secret passage ways and tunnels.
Incredible! My favorite was St. George’s church but they all were immensly impressive.
Equally impressive is the fact that service is still held at these churches and priests and monks were constantly wandering about. Within the compound there are also baptism pools and a fertility pool, which apparently works “a bit too well” for the women who are brave enough to be lowered into the green murky (and grassy) water…
Of a different but still impressive architectural scope are the two story huts found scattered throughout Lalibela.
And lastly, Lalibela is seen as a kind of Orthodox Christian Mecca and remenants of some pilgrims were found in caves carved into the walls around the churches. Oddly the burial within a wall is not that uncommon, this one just happened to be open…
And now I am back in HOT Lilongwe, planning a few trips to the field, keeping plenty busy with the scheme and savoring my final months at UNICEF/Malawi.
What a way for the Intelligence Shop (G-2) for AFRICOM to begin. The Concern and Scrutiny regarding the newest Mililtary Command of the United States may be overshadowed a tad by recent events off the coast of Somalia,
As the efforts to restore a functioning Centralized Government in Somalia continues to flounder there has been an increase in Piracy in one of the World’s busiest shipping regions. Several Nations including the United States have deployed both Naval and Special Forces Assets to the region in an effort to curtail the Criminal Activity.
One of the Vessels that was recently seized has several Intelligence Specialists concerned not only about the cargo but where the cargo was eventually headed to. After all this is one of the most violent regions in the whole world, The Faina is a container ship of Ukranian registry. It was captured within the last ten days. And part of its cargo was 33 T-72 Main Battle Tanks.
Now a guessing game has begun. The Pirates have demanded over $30 Million in Ransom. There are reports that the Tanks were headed to Mombasa, Kenya. The Kenyan Government has stated that they had purchased the Armor from Russia. There have been reports that the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) had acquired the weapons. US Intelligence believes that this is an effort to go around the Arms Embargo against Sudan.
Let us look at these three scenarios. First of all the Initial reaction regarding the Sudanese Government. This would not be the First Time the Russian Federation has attempted to break the Sanctions against Sudan. As a matter of fact the Russians have supported Sudan in the UN on more than one occasion. so this is plausible but i think that the Armor could have been unloaded at Port Sudan.
What about the claims of the Kenyan Government? Well the Armor was headed to a Kenyan Port. This could give the claims some form of legitimacy. There are still concerns regarding Abuse in the Mt. Elgon Region in the West of the Country but on the whole peace and stability are increasing in this country. Unless the Armor is meant to defend the Northern Border with Somalia and/or Ethiopia.
This brings us to the Government of Southern Sudan. This is an autonomous region of Sudan that fought a long protracted Insurgency against Khartoum. There is still a level of distrust towards Khartoum to this very day. Also in recent weeks there have been clashes with the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) which is a Ugandan Militia. The LRA was to have signed a Peace Deal with Kampala after GOSS negotiated a Peace Accord. When it came time to sign it the LRA did not show.
It is most likely that the Armor was most likely headed to either Nairobi or even Khartoum. But with the Armor being seized by the Pirates its possible that the Armor could end up being used in Somalia unless either the ransom is paid or the vessel is liberated by the Naval Elements that have the ship surrounded at this time.
Even though it does not have a forward deployment base or a permanent location this situation is still an interesting way for AFRICOM to start a new year. This is the US reacting to limit to spread of Piracy. Let us hope that AFRICOM is successful.
(The Author publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at morganrights.tripod.com)
ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) — Ethiopia The Woyanne tribal dictatorship in Ethiopia and Norway on Wednesday agreed to restore their relations to the previous status following a meeting of their foreign ministers held on Sept. 25 in New York, Ethiopia’s Woyanne Foreign Ministry said.
“The two ministers reviewed the report of the joint technical committee established with a mandate to look into all aspects of the problems and misunderstandings that led to the regrettable turn of events in the relations between Ethiopia Woyanne and Norway,” said the ministry in a statement.
The ministers expressed satisfaction with the work of the technical committee, and agreed to restore relations between the two countries to their previous status, it said.
“The decision taken by the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of del datetime=”2008-10-02T03:09:51+00:00″>Ethiopia Woyanne in connection with the diplomatic representation of the Kingdom of Norway in Addis Ababa has been rescinded.”
The ministry expressed belief that cooperation between the two countries will continue to deepen in all areas, the statement said.
In August last year, Ethiopia deported six Norwegian diplomats, saying that they had interfered in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.
However, Ethiopia Woyanne was insisting it had not severed diplomatic relations with Norway but was unhappy with its dealings with Eritrea in particular.
The row was caused by Norway’s support for the next round of border talks with Eritrea to be held at UN headquarters in New York.
LANCASTER – A Lancaster man was sentenced this week to 3 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for his role in a contraband cigarette trafficking ring that authorities said cheated the state out of more than $3 million in tax revenues.
Between 2002 and 2005, Daniel Araya, 43, distributed more than 1 million packs of cigarettes bearing counterfeit tax stamps. Some of the cigarettes were counterfeits that had been unlawfully smuggled into the United States from China, federal officials said.
Araya and other defendants evaded the California tax by affixing counterfeit tax stamps onto packs of cigarettes, which were then sold at smoke shops and other retail locations throughout the Southland. Araya was one of 13 people charged after a nearly three-year undercover probe, officials said.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Ethiopia’s Beijing Olympic double gold winner, Superstar Kenenisa Bekele, has announced that he will start building a US$16 million international sport centre outside the capital Addis Ababa in two months.
Bekele told journalists Tuesday that the multi-purpose sports centre would be constructed in the northern Shewa zone of the Sululta area in Oromia State in phases during a five-year period.
He indicated that the centre would be constructed on 50 hectares of land and would satisfy international standards so as to accommodate various sports competition and training.
The construction of the sports facility would play a great role in producing young athletes from the country, he said.
\”The centre would comprise various international standard competitions and training tracks, recreation centres and other social service providing facilities,\” he added.
Bekele recently won two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 5,000m and 10,000m distances, setting a new record in the latter.
I arrived in Addis with my friends Anne and Carl on the 19th. We spent the weekend eating really good food, staying out way too late with Roger’s new friend Tedy, shopping at nice shops, drinking phenomenal coffee, and all around enjoying the busy city that is Addis. Highlights from the weekend:
Mulugeta then took me to Mercato. The largest market in Eastern/Southern Africa. We all know how much I love markets and this one was no exception, but due to the enormous size it was very helpful to have a guide. It is said that you can buy anything at this market, from AK-47s to potatoes and goats. I myself stuck to incense, spices, raw coffee and jewelry. Thanks to Mulugeta I got some pretty good deals and learned a ton about what that white powdery stuff is and what the many uses are for berebery spice.
I also visited a few museums while in Addis, one of which contains the skeleton of Lucy (the oldest skeleton every found). These museums were extremely interesting as Ethiopia is not only the cradle of human existence but also home to some 87 tribes, each with distinct cultural practices and ways of life. The only thing better would have been to travel out to each tribe and spend a few weeks learning how to stretch my lip around a lip plug or grind up tef to make injera. Now I’ve got a plan for my next visit!
On Friday Rog and I traveled up north to do a bit of touristy sight-seeing. First we flew to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, home to tons of monestaries and really devout monks. We took a tour of a few of the monestaries (at least the ones I was allowed in to, some don’t allow women to even set foot on the island so as not to “tempt” the monks). Most of the monestaries are located on islands or peninsulas around the lake so our transport consisted of a boat and a few bumps. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile so after a few churches we took a car and a short hike to the Blue Nile Falls where we marveled at the amount of water pouring over the edge (and of course the surrounding wildlife).
Sadly we discovered that the falls don’t always appear so grand. The recent installation of an electric power plant next to the river usually diverts the water to produce electricity for the surrounding towns, diminishing the great falls to a mere trickle on most days (we just happened to be lucky enough to come on a day where the falls were “switched on”). Of course the environmentalist in me is mourning the loss of rare ecosystems and animal life below the falls, but the development dork in me has witnessed the enormous benefits that electricity can bring to human lives. Hmmm, a bit of a conundrum I’d say. Anywho, now that I’ve seen the Nile, my next task is to float down it!
From Bahir Dar we flew to beautiful Lalibela, a town located high in the hills of Ethiopia that happens to be home to amazing feats of architectural genious. a.k.a the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. We spent the majority of our day climbing around rocks that doubled as churches. According to our guide, most of the churches were believed to have been carved in the 13th century, around 800 years ago. And all of them are carved out of a single rock, some are free-standing, others attached to walls like caves, all of them are absolutely stunning. It was crazy to wonder around among ancient buildings that must have taken millions of man-hours to construct, some with intensely intricate carving detail and decoration.