Upstream Online & Hardcopy

2 July 2004

Svitzer feels heat in Western Sahara

By Barry Morgan

Fugro affiliate Svitzer has just completed a marine survey on Kerr-McGee's
Boujdour acreage off the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Based in Norfolk in the UK, Svitzer is the latest company to attract brickbats
from activists determined to persuade industry players not to sign deals with
Morocco, which occupies the territory and claims its resources.

Following a one-year extension, KMG's reconnaissance permit will expire on 29
October. However, its tenure is contested by the Sahrawi independence militia,
which has long fought for sovereign control, stirring international
controversy over the licencing regime imposed by Rabat.

Fellow UK consultancy Robertson Research International (RRI)is also poised to
complete survey work in Western Sahara, despite question marks over the
legitimacy of UK corporate involvement in what the UK government calls a
"non-self governing territory" where it says sovereignty remains to be
determined under UN auspices. Fot its part, RRI said it is not directly
contracted to Rabat.

Confirmation of RRI's involvement comes hard on the heels of a campaign
launched by Western Sahara support groups across Europe against exploration
and production companies doing business at the behest of Rabat.

Kerr-McGee, Total and TGS-Nopec were blasted for jumping the gun on a fragile
peace process in which the UN has sought diplomatic consensus ahead of a
referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people.

Activists' primary target of late has been UK-registered Wessex Exploration,
which was recently invited to Rabat to finalise a preliminary but open-ended
deal to analyse onshore data ahead of an exploration push outlined by Moroccan
state oil company managing director Amina Benkhadra.

Wessex has been warned that "its reputation would suffer" if it did not back
off or negotiate with the Sahrawi authorities.

In the meantime, several UK parliamentarians have moved to seek clarification
of the UK government's position on British companies doing business in Western
Sahara. Concerned MPs led by the Labour Party's David Drew, want to pin down
Whitehall on its attitude.

Drew will shortly table a parliamentary question seeking greater clarity. Drew
now speaks for the Western Sahara Support Group and two Conservative MPs are
expected to join existing members before they resurface as a parliamentary
force.

The UK Foreign Office insists sovereignty in Western Sahara remains
undetermined as long as UN calls to resolve the crisis via the so-called Baker
Peace Plan remain unheeded.

"We want to push the UK to promote the Plan so that Morocco withdraws. It
should also tell British companies that they should not get involved in
Western Sahara at this time while the UN mandate remains unimplemented," said
Drew.

The Foreign Office currently has no problem with companies winning
reconnaissance or E&P licences from Rabat, so long as the practical effect
complies with constraints laid down by the UN Legal Office on "disregarding
the rights" of the Sahrawi people.

This means Kerr-McGee and Total can use TGS-Nopec and Fugro to shoot seismic
as long as rigs are not deployed to confirm or produce oil finds.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of strategically important seismic data for Rabat
as the licensor remains legal under the "look but don't touch" interpretation
of both UK and US governments. However, a UK official said that "we'd have to
revisit this opinion if activity got this far. There is no official
endorsement".

"Right now, our view is that UK companies going into Western Sahara are on
their own and we cannot link them to the Department of Trade & Industry or
offer the support of any other government mechanisms," the source added.

Two UK-registered companies presently stand on both sides of the fence.
Sterling Resources has inherited an exclusive offshore PSC from AIM-listed
Fusion Oil & Gas following a recent take-over, while Wessex is under
increasing pressure after retaining its exclusive study licence from Rabat.

After expending $600 million on peace-keeping efforts, the UN system is tiring
of the Western Sahara crisis, with UN Special Envoy James Baker resigning in
frustration last month.

The UN's new representative, Alvaro de Soto, said this week that he would
pursue the same policy as Baker, suggesting no new ideas to break the deadlock
were on the table.

barry.morgan@...

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Source: http://upstreamonline.com
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For further background info, see:
- http://www.arso.org/fugro04.htm
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-Update/messagesearch?query=Fugro
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Forwarded by:
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Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara

wsahara@...

*** Referendum now! ***

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sahara-update
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