What’s the oil rush in Somalia?

Contributor(s): Joakim Gundel, Dr Claire Elder, Dr Mohamed Gaas, Abdisalam Mohamed | Somalia is in pre-election mode and is at the same time pushing for the licensing of oil, based on the promising prospects revealed by seismic surveys. A maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya, in the International Court of Justice, is part of wider regional interests. In 2020, Covid-19 has dramatically reduced the demand and price of oil. The panel will discuss the implications of these dynamics. Joakim Gundel is the recipient of a small grant from the CRP, a long established researcher on the Somali territories and an ex member of the UN Panel of Experts on Somalia. Claire Elder (@celder_m) is a Fellow at the LSE, at the Centre for Public Authority and International Development. She completed her PhD at the University of Oxford in 2019 having previously worked for International Crisis Group in Nairobi. Her research is on diaspora politics, transnational governance and business-state relations in Somalia. Mohamed Gaas (@Gaas_M) has a PhD in Development Studies from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He has worked in various research capacities on the Horn of Africa and Somalia and has published on a number of themes, including in areas of peacebuilding and piracy. Abdisalam Mohamed is an economist and PhD candidate at the Adam Smith Institute, University of Glasgow. He has worked in Somalia for the United Nations Development Programme as well as in Norway, where he lives, working as an energy economist and analyst. Jessica Watkins (@jesterwatkins) is Research Officer at the Middle East Centre, at the LSE, and works on the Conflict Research Programme (CRP). The Conflict Research Programme is based within LSE IDEAS.