User talk:Cavansyte
Oil and gas[edit]
Hi, I have noted that you deleted my additions and modifications of Sept 9 relating to oil and gas in Somalia (made from an anonymous IP address which I was using). The main modification I made was (1) to improve the readability by separating mineral resources and oil/gas resources (as oil and gas are actualy the same, the only difference is temperature during organic matter maturation); (2) updating the CIA Somalia Factbook reference year (the reference was pointing to the 2011 edition, but 2013 is available). In addition to these improvements, I added a reference to a recently public paper in the Horn of Africa Bulletin, written by a one of the best oil and gas expert of the Horn for having worked there as an independent scientist as well as a manager for 40 years with the main oil industry companies in the region. Adding this reference is an effort to resolve the neutrality issue of this Wikipedia section pointed by Wikipedia by adding some well-documented scientific background to the oil and gas debate, which makes many people nervous in Somalia and Ethiopia. The Horn of Africa Bulletin article is I think (as an expert scientist in this region as well) a major paper that everyone concerned by the social, political, and economic issues of Somalia and Ethiopia should read carefully. Please let me know what you think and why you deleted my contribution! Best regards Cavansyte (talk) 09:31, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
- Hi. Interesting choice of username there... At any rate, the oil/gas/mineral reserves are extensively discussed on the talk page. It is a complicated issue that requires prior discussion and consensus. Resources far more authoritative than the Horn of Africa Bulletin paper you linked to, including reports by the oil exploration companies themselves, indicate something altogether different and were deemed unreliable for use there. So the bulletin paper, which only mentions Somalia's energy reserves in passing (and misclassifies the Great Lakes country of Kenya as a Horn of Africa nation, though it gets it right on its website [1]), is even less so. For example, Kilimanjaro Capital states that "today, the emerging focus in Somalia is on oil and gas exploration with few remembering that uranium was once king here[...] Uranium deposits are scattered throughout northern and central Somalia[...] However, most regions have not been explored[...] Kilimanjaro hopes to change that trend by branching out into uranium exploration logistics and support services" [2]. Similarly, Africa Oil notes that "the limited historical information indicates that reservoir quality rocks are present within the Nogal Basin[...] Two wells drilled in the centre of the basin and the drilling reports for these two wells indicated that the Jurassic sandstone targets were not reached but that oil shows were found in some of the shallower Cretaceous sandstones[...] Surface seeps of oil, as well as oil shows reported in the exploration wells drilled by previous operators, indicate that the source rocks have generated hydrocarbons and that they have migrated through the system[...] There is not enough data yet to determine if trap formation predates hydrocarbon migration, however[...] The indications from the limited number of wells drilled in the basin are that the basin appears to be oil-prone" [3]. Best regards, Middayexpress (talk) 14:20, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
- The problem is that none of the oil industry reports can be used without permission - which is in general not granted, so that most people interested in the topic rely on the enthusiastic propaganda spread in press releases of both companies and governments, who all have interest in maximizing the oil potential. I do think that the article you do not like in the HAB is important to cite because in spite of the obvious limitations that you point out, the views of the oil and gas potential it provides does not make use of the usual waffle. It just reflects the observations that any geologist having access to the industry reports can make but is not granted to demonstrate. It is in addition understandable by every reader. The state of the art is that there might be oil and gas in Somalia of commercial value, but no-one is able to say yes or no and if yes, how much. Your citation of Africa Oil "The indications from the limited number of wells drilled in the basin are that the basin appears to be oil-prone" is an excellent illustration. How many times were these words written? Logically the African Horn should be covered by a huge cortege of drilling platforms; instead of this, oil is only in a couple of beer bottles disseminated and proudly exhibited in the meeting rooms of oil companies. I think that beyond numbers, the view presented in HAB should be represented in Wikipedia; if you too, perhaps you could suggest an alternative article modification. Cavansyte is a great mineral crystallizing in voluminous lava flows in a few spots on Earth. Cheers Cavansyte (talk) 15:57, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
- Yeah, I know what cavansite is, thanks. At any rate, I never said anything about liking or disliking the Bulletin. What I wrote was that it only mentions Somalia's energy reserves in passing. It also isn't from specialists actually involved in Somalia's oil industry. The latter are the authorities that all second and third hand information on Somalia's energy industry ultimately originates from, so they're more authoritative. If Africa Oil's factual findings of oil shows in Somalia are non-notable, than the Bulletin's musings on how much oil is found in Somalia are certainly not. That said, the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources just signed a seismic option agreement with Soma Oil and Gas, which completed an offshore seismic data acquisition program in June. According to the firm's CEO Robert Sheppard, "the completion of the 2D seismic acquisition programme is a significant milestone for both Soma Oil & Gas and the Federal Government of Somalia[...] the quantity and quality of seismic data acquired is at the top end of our expectations". Soma Oil and Gas is now slated to provide the processed data to the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources by the end of the year. That's when the general public will begin to have an idea just how much oil there is in Somalia [4]. Regards, Middayexpress (talk) 17:06, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
- The problem is that none of the oil industry reports can be used without permission - which is in general not granted, so that most people interested in the topic rely on the enthusiastic propaganda spread in press releases of both companies and governments, who all have interest in maximizing the oil potential. I do think that the article you do not like in the HAB is important to cite because in spite of the obvious limitations that you point out, the views of the oil and gas potential it provides does not make use of the usual waffle. It just reflects the observations that any geologist having access to the industry reports can make but is not granted to demonstrate. It is in addition understandable by every reader. The state of the art is that there might be oil and gas in Somalia of commercial value, but no-one is able to say yes or no and if yes, how much. Your citation of Africa Oil "The indications from the limited number of wells drilled in the basin are that the basin appears to be oil-prone" is an excellent illustration. How many times were these words written? Logically the African Horn should be covered by a huge cortege of drilling platforms; instead of this, oil is only in a couple of beer bottles disseminated and proudly exhibited in the meeting rooms of oil companies. I think that beyond numbers, the view presented in HAB should be represented in Wikipedia; if you too, perhaps you could suggest an alternative article modification. Cavansyte is a great mineral crystallizing in voluminous lava flows in a few spots on Earth. Cheers Cavansyte (talk) 15:57, 10 September 2014 (UTC)