Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: China Invests in Somalia Despite Instability

naturalmente i cinesi e i pirati somali non si sono mai incontrati...perchè 
i cinesi naturalmente non si immaginano nemmeno che i pirati possano colpire 
le proprie petroliere...ma certo che no...
Un aiutino? :-)
----------------------------------
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=667
23 July 2007
''China Invests in Somalia Despite Instability''
The Financial Times reported on July 13 that the Chinese National Offshore 
Oil Corporation (C.N.O.O.C.) has signed a deal with Somali President 
Abdullahi Yusuf to explore the northern Puntland region for oil. The initial 
agreement was signed last May, and it was endorsed at the China-Africa 
summit held in Beijing last November. [See: "Upcoming Summit Highlights 
Africa's Importance to China"]
A meeting between C.N.O.O.C. and Somali officials was held on June 24 to 
finalize the deal. The terms indicate that the Somali government would 
retain 51 percent of the oil revenues under a production-sharing 
arrangement. Further reporting from the Financial Times, however, revealed 
that Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was not aware of the contract, 
suggesting that the oil deal remains vulnerable to political infighting.
China's willingness to invest in Somalia -- before the Transitional Federal 
Government (T.F.G.) completes work on a national oil law and as the security 
situation continues to deteriorate -- shows that Beijing has not been 
deterred by the growing backlash across Africa at Chinese policies and 
remains willing to take on political risks that Western firms will not 
tolerate.
Threats to China in Africa
Chinese investments have come under attack in recent months, and a general 
wariness about closer ties with Beijing has become part of the political 
dialogue in most African countries where China does business. Days after the 
June meeting in Somalia, a Chinese mining executive was kidnapped in Niger. 
The incident followed the killing of nine Chinese workers in Ethiopia, near 
the border with Somalia, in April. Chinese workers have also come under 
attack in Nigeria in recent months.
Politically, Chinese investments have become a touchy subject. Michael 
Sata's opposition campaign in Zambia received strong backing after he 
attacked Chinese investments and threatened to renew ties with Taiwan. He 
ultimately failed in his bid for the presidency, however, after China 
threatened retaliatory measures if he were elected. Similar complaints have 
been raised in Nigeria and South Africa.
China began to address the growing unease in Africa toward its investments 
earlier this year. Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Zambia and South 
Africa in February where he pledged further investments and a greater focus 
on community development plans. China has also publicly used its leverage in 
Sudan to press Khartoum to accept the terms of last year's U.N. Security 
Council resolution on the Darfur crisis. [See: "China Adjusts its Approach 
in Africa" and "China Claims Success on Darfur"]
Nevertheless, China's fundamental goals in Africa have not changed. In 
Africa, China is looking to secure access to the natural resources it needs 
to keep its economic expansion humming, as well as support for its policies 
at the United Nations. The C.N.O.O.C. deal in Somalia is evidence that 
China's risk appetite has not decreased as it pursues these goals in Africa.
Investing in Somalia
Somalia has no proven oil reserves, and only 200 billion cubic feet of 
proven natural gas reserves. Companies including Agip, Shell (Pecten), 
Conoco and Phillips (now merged), and Amoco (now part of BP) spent more than 
US$150 million on onshore exploration in the 1980s and early 1990s, but no 
oil reserves were discovered. Still Range Resources, a small 
Australian-based oil firm with close contacts to the government in Puntland, 
estimates that the region could hold 5 to 10 billion barrels of oil based on 
an analysis of the previous exploration reports.
The Puntland province claims autonomy from the government in Mogadishu, but 
not independence like Somaliland. The region has been relatively calm 
compared to central and southern Somalia since 1991, but the political 
situation remains uncertain. President Yusuf was certainly involved in the 
negotiations with the Chinese firm, as he hails from the Puntland province 
and maintains close ties with the local leadership, but the prime minister 
of the T.F.G. was left out of the loop.
The fact that Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was kept out of the 
negotiations suggests that the terms of the deal are not beneficial to the 
T.F.G. or Somalia's other provinces. This could exacerbate already strained 
ties between the prime minister and the president. [See: "Somalia Continues 
its Political Collapse"]
The prime minister appears to have led an effort within the T.F.G. to pass a 
national oil law that would allow Western firms to return to Somalia under 
production-sharing agreements, which require oil firms to share their 
production with the government after initial costs are covered. He told the 
Dow Jones Newswire in April that a national oil law would be passed within 
two months, a deadline that has slipped. The oil law in question seems to be 
similar to the one pushed in Iraq by the United States, which has also not 
been passed. China may have wished to sign the deal for exploration rights 
in Puntland before the law was passed, in order to avoid competition with 
Western majors, but the emergence of a national oil law could threaten the 
investment. [See: "Sectarian Fighting Overshadows Oil Law Debate in Iraq"]
The fact that China would enter into an agreement in such an uncertain legal 
and political environment, to say nothing of the security concerns, shows 
that it is still willing to take on risks that the Western oil majors cannot 
tolerate. This remains the main competitive advantage for China in the race 
to secure natural resources around the world -- while Chinese firms do not 
have the technology to drill in some of the conditions that Western firms 
can, they do not have the same political and financial constraints that 
prevent them from investing in regions considered off limits to Western 
firms.
Last month, for example, China National Petroleum Corporation (C.N.P.C.) 
signed a deal to co-develop an offshore block in Sudan, where China has been 
the dominant player in the oil sector after sanctions caused Western firms 
to suspend their operations or pull out completely. Sudan now supplies up to 
ten percent of China's oil imports. In Angola, China provided $2 billion in 
soft loans to the government that allowed it to avoid implementing reforms 
requested by Western donors. In return, Angola ensured that it would provide 
continuous oil supplies to Beijing. [See: "China and Angola Strengthen 
Bilateral Relationship"]
C.N.O.O.C. said earlier this year that it would boost output to 78 million 
tons from 40.3 million tons last year. In order to maintain growth rates 
near this level, Beijing will need to continue to help its oil companies 
invest in regions where Western firms cannot. This means that China will 
fund infrastructure projects in countries under Western sanctions, such as 
Sudan, or where security concerns dissuade Western firms from investing 
more, such as Nigeria.
The decision to invest in Somalia's Puntland region is part of this 
strategy. Only a small firm, such as Range Resources, would be able to take 
on a similar risk level, and that firm has spent several years courting the 
local government officials there. With the financial and political backing 
of the Chinese government, C.N.O.O.C. and C.N.P.C. have a distinct advantage 
over the smaller Western firms.
Conclusion
China's move into Somalia's oil industry is a further example of its 
strategy for securing access to natural resources around the world. Rather 
than purchasing oil on the global markets, as the United States does for the 
most part, China prefers to secure control of the resources it needs at the 
source. However, because China's oil firms lack the technical capabilities 
and political clout of the Western majors, Beijing prefers to deal with 
regions that are out of reach to the competition.
This practice has sparked a growing backlash across Africa to China's 
policies. Many locals see Beijing's actions as protecting corrupt and often 
dictatorial leaders. Beijing has attempted to counter this perception 
recently by investing in infrastructure projects in regions where the 
backlash is strongest, leaking reports of its unhappiness with the most 
controversial leaders, and granting local businesses better access to 
China's markets in some industries.
The investment in Somalia's Puntland province still looks risky, even by 
Chinese standards. The deal appears to have been struck with the local 
officials in the province that claims autonomy from the transitional, 
central government. However, the president of the T.F.G., who is from the 
region, was involved in the deal. The prime minister of the T.F.G. appears 
to prefer another model to attract investments, passing a national oil law 
that will clarify the legal questions that prevent Western firms from 
returning to Somalia. The Chinese deal may well fall victim to the political 
infighting that is likely to follow.
Still, the T.F.G.'s claim to control Puntland appears to be weakening as the 
central government remains frozen in a state of political collapse. Two days 
after the Financial Times first reported about the Chinese oil deal, the 
much awaited national reconciliation conference had to be delayed because 
security for the meeting could not be guaranteed in Mogadishu. Given the 
T.F.G.'s uncertainty, Beijing's decision to work with the local 
representatives in Puntland may well prove to be enough, and China could 
soon be pumping Somali oil, if it even exists.
Report Drafted By:
Adam Wolfe 

 naturalmente i cinesi e i pirati somali non si sono mai incontrati...
mentre tu con i violenta bambini? 
 
-- 
visitate 
http://www.comunisti-italiani.it/frames/index.htm
 
http://www.larinascita.org
http://www.italia-cuba.it/associazione/associazione.htm
questo articolo e` stato inviato via web dal servizio gratuito 
http://www.newsland.it/news
 segnala gli abusi ad 
ab...@newsland.it