Ethiopia Expects to Produce Gas by 2017

Ethiopia could begin producing and exporting natural gas by 2017, according to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

According to news agency Reuters, officials from the mines ministry say the Calub and Hilala fields in the Ogaden Basin have deposits of 4.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and 13.6 million barrels of associated liquids, both discovered in the 1970s but not yet exploited.

Several firms have already acquired licenses to explore more than 40 blocks throughout Ethiopia in the past four years, the vast majority of them in the southeastern Somali Region, Reuters added.

"Studies show the existence of natural gas reserves in several places, and they will all be gradually developed," Hailemariam told a press conference in the Ethiopian capital.

Hailemariam stated that a Chinese firm is carrying out activities on the Calub and Hilala reserves.

"In the next two years, we plan to start exporting and using the natural gas from these areas," Hailemariam said.

China's GCL-Poly Petroleum Investments signed a production sharing deal with Ethiopia's mines ministry in late 2013 to develop both fields, according to Reuters.

"GCL-Poly Petroleum Investments will fund the pipeline that will transport the Ethiopia gas to Djibouti for a total cost of more than $4 billion, of which $3 billion will be invested in the Djibouti section," said Mohamed Nour, a communications adviser at Djibouti's energy ministry.