Ethiopia’s First Gas Reserves Certificate Lures Anchor Investors

September 2, 2022

BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU

ADDIS ABABA — With certified seven trillion cubic feet natural gas discovered lately in Ogaden, Ethiopia, is definitely a key to reach out to anochor investors, Fairfax Africa Fund Global Chairperson Zemedeneh Nigatu said.

In his latest interview with international media, Zemedeneh stated that the seven trillion cubic feet natural gas is actually the proven and certified gas reserve. Starting from the Imperial regime, a lot of explorations have been done in Ethiopia, but nothing was really significant, he added.

What the Government of Ethiopia has done smartly this time, according to Zemedeneh, is finding out what exactly does the nation have. The country gets a certified reserve from the American Company with a very good track record of certifying reserves.

As to him, to certify what is there is one step, and the second step is to monetize. A government with such reliable and certified data, it entices investors to proceed. The certification is now attracting sizable amount of credible investors when they see this kind of certified reserve.

Further, Zemedeneh mentioned that now a day, gas price is the main topic in Europe. Countries in Europe are looking for other gas sources. “With seven trillion cubic feet of gas, Ethiopia might be an alternative supplier of gas to Europe. It will be worth tens of billions of dollars over the next decades or more,” he said.

In addition, the chairman disclosed that it is a very significant step for Ethiopia regarding monetizing what is in the ground. This might be the first step towards that goal.

In the past, there were talks about significant gas and oil available in Ethiopia, but nothing was done. Now, the Government of Ethiopia has taken a smart, radically different approach regarding knowing what the nation has. Ethiopia is going to approach anchor companies not speculators because now the nation has tangible resource, Zemedeneh noted.

Seven trillion cubic feet of gas reserve is amongst 40 largest reserves in the world and rank higher on the list, the chairperson added.

The government of Ethiopia has been restructuring its policies in the past several years to upgrade its potential and to attract investors. This time, the country has something at hand, so that as to the mine minister, they will definitely be dealing with credible players, Zemedeneh said.

The Ethiopian Herald September 2/2022