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Article

9 Jun 2007

Author:
afrol News

Fortune hunters eye Western Sahara oil riches

Following pressure from the UN and pro-Sahrawi activists, most serious oil companies pulled out of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. But now, a new group of fortune hunters is eying great financial opportunities in the probably oil-rich territory, ignoring international law...Moroccan authorities...have granted two oil exploration licences on...Western Sahara, despite a legal notice from the UN in 2002 questioning the legality of such exploration and concluding that further oil exploitation in all circumstances would be illegal as long as Western Sahara remains occupied...Kosmos Energy on 3 May 2006 signed an agreement with [Morocco]...shocking pro-Sahrawi activists...The company points to "substantial recent progress in resolving the political situation" in the UN, where all other analysts speak of a deadlock... [also refers to TGS-Nopec, Kerr-McGee, ONHYM (formerly Onarep), Total, Island Oil & Gas, San Leon, GB Oil & Gas Ventures]