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Ethiopia rebels say they have seized Hilala gasfield
(5/31/2010 - OGI: Cairo) The Ethiopian government has denied the claim made yesterday by the guerilla organization Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) that it had attacked and seized control of the Hilala gasfield in eastern Ogaden, the Somali region of Ethiopia.
Bereket Simon, a spokesman for the government, called the claim "a complete lie", but there has been no confirmation either of the occupation of the gasfield by ONLF or not.
Yesterday the ONLF said, "Troops of the regime abandoned the field after being surrounded by our forces and determining their chances for survival were slim. Those troops were given safe passage out of Hilala fields." It said that there were no casualties as a result of the attack and seizure of the field.
The Hilala and nearby Calub Fields were acquired in 2007 by Petronas Carigali. They are said to contain approximately 4 Tcf in natural gas reserves, the largest in the country. The company holds three blocks in the Ogaden, Genale, Callafo, and Wel Wel-Warder, as well as Blocks 11 and 15. It had indicated it was planning an investment of about US$1.9 billion in exploration and development operations as well as to lay a gas pipeline from the gasfields to Djibouti. On 22 May, however, Petronas said it had suspended work in the Ogaden Basin because of the lack of security and the killing of a British geologist working there for IMC Geophysical International, under contract to Petronas.
According to Abdurahman Mahdi, a spokesman for ONLF, the company abandoned the Hilala Field a week ago and left it to the Ethiopian army to hold, but it was unable to do so.
Click here for earlier report.
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