Mali seeks to develop oil reserves
2011-08-12
Experts say an al-Qaeda presence is standing in the way of economic development in Mali.
By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 12/08/11
The Malian government announced last week that it was moving forward with plans to exploit oil resources in the mineral rich Taoudeni basin, despite concerns over an al-Qaeda presence in the area.
In a statement released August 3rd, Malian authorities said they signed a contract for "oil exploration and extraction, refining and transport" with Petroplus Angola worth 46 billion West African francs (nearly 70 million euros). The company will also contribute to training Malian personnel in the field.
Observers said the biggest challenge the Malian government will face in extracting oil from the Taoudeni basin is the danger of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has military camps near the area.
"There have been several reasons preventing the basin countries from exploiting it for decades," said Mohameden Ould Brahim, a mining expert. "Today, there is the emerging danger of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has come to threaten African countries and the interests of Western countries as well."
He added, "But perhaps Mali felt it necessary to exploit this basin, which is the largest sedimentary basin in West Africa, spanning an area estimated at 1,500,000 km between Mauritania, Mali and Algeria, and extending to the borders of Burkina Faso. It is proceeding along the lines of what was done by Mauritania, which depended on the exploration of the French company Total, which drilled 100km east of the city of Ouadane, northeast of Nouakchott."
"The results of drilling carried out by the Total company in Mauritania will be important and decisive for the future of oil exploration in the Taoudeni basin, which is larger than half the size of Mauritania, where other oil exploration companies in the same basin – the Spanish Repsol, for example – are anxiously awaiting its results to know whether to continue exploration in sections in Lemira in northern Tagant state," Ould Brahim said.
Analyst Mohamed Ould Toulba said that the Malian move was "a positive sign indicating that pockets of al-Qaeda have been affected by the strike against them by the Mauritanian army".
"Thus, the danger of terrorism in the region is no longer feared," Ould Toulba said. "Added to that, capital is a coward, which means that the giant corporations operating in the exploration field will not venture drilling in unsafe territory."
Mohamed Naji, an expert in Salafist ideology, expressed his concern that the Malian government might cut deals with al-Qaeda, saying that it could obtain guarantees from "al-Qaeda that it will not target its interests and the interests of the companies working with it".
This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.
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