{"id":5284,"date":"2016-10-12T21:56:51","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T21:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/?p=5284"},"modified":"2017-01-24T16:36:18","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T16:36:18","slug":"soma-oil-gas-cleared-in-somalias-corruption-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-gas-cleared-in-somalias-corruption-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Soma Oil & Gas Cleared in Somalia\u2019s Corruption Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

The high court in London has cleared Soma Oil and Gas of corruption<\/a> allegations brought forward by the serious fraud office over monies paid by the company to Somali officials as salaries for technical staff, office equipment and transport\u00a0 which the company explained as payment for capacity building purposes.<\/p>\n

In its ruling the court observed that there was \u201cinsufficient evidence of criminality\u2026 in relation to the \u2018capacity building payments\u2019 that would lead to a conviction.<\/p>\n

Responding to the ruling CEO of Soma Richard Anderson termed the past and ongoing investigations as a play by third parties who want to undermine competitive efforts by the company to become the first mover in the horn of Africa country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is all too easy for third parties to make assumptions and allegations about commercial successes in difficult environments around the world but the fact of the matter is that Soma has behaved properly at all times,\u201d said Anderson.<\/p>\n

This said the SFO said it is ongoing with other investigations on the company on which the court refused to provide a ruling that would force the state agency to reveal its inquiries on Soma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SFO has confirmed to the Court that it has found no evidence of wrongdoing during its investigation into the allegations set out in the SEMG\u2019s report and we are confident that any outstanding lines of inquiry will not result in any action against Soma, Anderson added.<\/p>\n

Soma Oil now says it will now concentrate on converting its Notice of Application into Production Sharing Agreements<\/a> that will enable the company to take the next steps to confirm if there is a working petroleum system offshore Somalia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect the role of the SFO and recognise that, when concluded, the investigation will be a net positive for the Company,\u201d read a statement from the company.<\/p>\n

Soma Oil & Gas which was founded in early 2013 expressly with a view to exploring in Somalia has on its board members including: former leader of the Conservative Party in Britain Lord Howard now the Chairman having held the post since May 2013, former Chairman of Eurasia Drilling Company Lord Clanwilliam, one of the founding investors in Ophir Energy plc Basil Shiblaq who is the Executive Deputy Chairman among others.<\/p>\n

Soma Oil and Gas that in June concluded a 122,000 sq km 2D seismic acquisition and processing<\/a> is set to benefit from blocks with an area of up to 60,000 sq km under a seismic option\u00a0agreement<\/a> with Federal Government of Somalia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The high court in London has cleared Soma Oil and Gas of corruption allegations brought forward by the serious fraud office over monies paid by the company to Somali officials … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,11],"tags":[528,3466,3837,5383,3836,2352],"class_list":["post-5284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oil-politics","category-top-news","tag-corruption","tag-lord-howard","tag-serious-fraud-office","tag-sfo","tag-soma-oil-gas","tag-somalia","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/soma-oil-and-gas.png?fit=353%2C266&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5JWkQ-1ne","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3205,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/serious-fraud-office-opens-corruption-investigations-soma-oil-gas-somalia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":0},"title":"Serious Fraud Office Opens Corruption investigations on Soma Oil and Gas in Somalia","author":"","date":"August 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"United Kindgom\u2019s Serious Fraud Office has confirmed that it has opened a criminal investigation into SOMA Oil & Gas Holdings Ltd, SOMA Oil & Gas Exploration Limited, SOMA Management Limited and others in relation to allegations of corruption in Somalia. According to the SFO website the investigating institution is seeking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Basil Shiblaq\"","block_context":{"text":"Basil Shiblaq","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/tag\/basil-shiblaq\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/soma-oil-and-gas.png?fit=353%2C266&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3261,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-gas-protest-investigations-leakage-letter-united-nations\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":1},"title":"Soma Oil & Gas protest investigations leakage in a letter to the United Nations","author":"","date":"August 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The UK-registered oil and gas exploration company focused on Somalia Soma Oil & Gas has written a letter to Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, Chair of the United Nations Security Council Committee requesting a meeting to discuss the allegations contained in the leaked confidential report by the United Nations Somalia and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Oil Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Oil Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/oil-politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/soma-oil-and-gas.png?fit=353%2C266&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4173,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-delivers-seismic-data-to-somalia-government-applies-for-psa\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":2},"title":"Soma Oil Delivers Seismic Data to Somalia Government, Applies for PSA","author":"","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"UK-registered oil and gas exploration company focused on Somalia Soma Oil & Gas has said that as per the terms of the Seismic Option Agreement (SOA), the company has delivered the Exploration Programme data to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Government of Somalia. Having completed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Top News"","block_context":{"text":"Top News","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/top-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1840,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-gas-to-sponsor-2nd-somalia-oil-gas-summit\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":3},"title":"Soma Oil & Gas to sponsor 2nd Somalia Oil & Gas Summit","author":"Samuel Kamau Mbote","date":"September 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"[twitter-follow screen_name='oilnewskenya'] Somalia-focused oil and gas Exploration Company Soma Oil & Gas Exploration Limited has announced it will be sponsoring the Somalia Oil & Gas Summit for the second year running. Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the Somalia Oil & Gas Summit 2014 will be taking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Top News"","block_context":{"text":"Top News","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/top-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/oil_gas_somali.jpg?fit=280%2C250&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2886,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-gas-completes-processing-2d-seismic-data-offshore-somalia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":4},"title":"Soma Oil & Gas Completes of the Processing of the 2D Seismic Data offshore Somalia","author":"","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Soma Oil & Gas Exploration Limited has announced it has completed the processing and reprocessing of the acquired 2D seismic data carried out by SeaBird Exploration and concluded in June 2014 with over 20,500 km lines of 2D seismic data having been acquired across a 114,000 sq km offshore evaluation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Top News"","block_context":{"text":"Top News","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/top-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2034,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/soma-oil-gas-hopeful-in-somalia-psa-applications\/","url_meta":{"origin":5284,"position":5},"title":"Soma Oil & Gas hopeful in Somalia PSA applications","author":"Samuel Kamau Mbote","date":"November 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Privately owned UK company pursuing oil and gas exploration opportunities in Somalia Soma Oil and Gas has said it is hopeful that it will be in a position to make production sharing agreement applications once the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources is getting ready to receive them. Already the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Top News"","block_context":{"text":"Top News","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/top-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/offshore-somalia.png?fit=557%2C526&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5285,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284\/revisions\/5285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}