Kenya Says Somalia Misleading World in Offshore Oil Row

• Kenya accuses Somalia of auctioning blocks in disputed area
• Hearing on issue at International Court of Justice by year-end

By David Herbling

Kenya said Somalia is misleading prospective investors by offering to sell four offshore oil blocks in an area that is subject to court proceedings in an ownership dispute between the two countries.

The horn-of-Africa country had earlier denied the allegations. It said while maps it presented at a conference in London last week included territory that Somalia claims, its government won’t take any unilateral action on the area pending a ruling on the matter it took to the United Nations International Court of Justice in 2014.

The presentations had “critical dates and schedule for the process” to be concluded in September, Kenya Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Monica Juma told reporters Thursday in the capital, Nairobi. “The federal government of Somalia is deliberately misleading the world,” she said.

Kenya expects a court hearing on the matter by end of the year, according to Juma.

President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier on Thursday led a cabinet meeting that agreed on steps to resolve the dispute and protect the East African nation’s territory, his office said in an emailed statement.

Source: Bloomberg