Oil exploration in Puntland

[1] The Puntland region in northeastern Somalia, in particular, came to be regarded as the geological analogue of Yemen since both areas once formed a single landmass around 18 million years ago, before the Gulf of Aden rifted and separated the Horn of Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

The provincial authorities in October 2005 granted Range Resources a majority stake in two sizable land-based mineral and hydrocarbon exploration licenses, in addition to offshore rights.

[3] At the time of the 2005 agreement officially awarding the licenses to Range Resources, the Puntland government administered the entire Nugaal Valley.

[2] Under the terms of the both royalty-based and profit sharing agreement, Canmex would commit to two three-year periods of comprehensive oil exploration in the Nugaal and Dharoor Valley blocks.

[2] Following a change in leadership in 2009, the Puntland government, now led by President Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, sought to renegotiate the profit sharing agreement with Range Resources to ensure more favorable terms for the region.