Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Somalia: what it does

What it does

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources makes federal policy for oil, gas and mining. Its stated mission is "to effectively capitalize upon Somalia's natural resources and distribute the ensuing benefits fairly and proportionately amongst the Member States and the Somali people" (Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources). It also issues rules for the "downstream" side, the import, storage and sale of fuel, under its Petroleum Downstream Regulation (same source).

Under it sits the Somali Petroleum Authority (SPA), the regulator. The 2020 Petroleum Law created the SPA to license and oversee oil and gas work, and a Somali National Oil Company to take part in operations (S&P Global, August 2020). The cabinet approved the SPA's first board on 30 July 2020; its first chair and chief executive was Ibrahim Ali Hussein (same source; Hiiraan Online, August 2020).

Who leads it

Dahir Shire Mohamed is minister. He replaced Abdirizak Omar Mohamed in a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre (Eastleigh Voice; Dawan Africa, April 2026). The ministry's Director General is Mohamed Hashi Arabey (Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources).

The money

From the federal budget (Appropriation Act for 2027, as submitted):

What it has done, step by step

• 2019: the ministry signed an agreement with Shell and ExxonMobil settling their old obligations and setting out how their pre-1991 concessions could be converted into production sharing agreements (Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources).
• February 2020: the Petroleum Law was ratified (Oilfield Technology, 24 February 2020). The ministry's site says the law makes any oil discovered "the sole property of the Somali people" (same source as above).
• August 2020 to March 2021: Somalia ran its first offshore licensing round, with bids open from 4 August 2020 to 12 March 2021 (Modern Diplomacy, August 2020; Oil Review Africa). Puntland and Jubaland rejected the law and withdrew from the process (Offshore Technology).
• 2024: Türkiye and Somalia signed an oil and gas cooperation agreement on 7 March 2024. In July 2024 Türkiye's state oil company TPAO and the SPA signed an exploration and production agreement for three offshore blocks of about 5,000 square kilometres each (Daily Sabah; Hürriyet Daily News). The Turkish survey ship Oruç Reis began 3D seismic surveys in October 2024 (Hürriyet Daily News).
• April 2025: TPAO and the SPA signed a second agreement, for three onshore blocks covering 16,000 square kilometres (Daily Sabah).
• 2026: the Turkish drilling ship Çağrı Bey arrived in Mogadishu. In April 2026 the minister said the first exploration well, Curad-1, would be drilled in deep water off Galmudug, between Mareeg and Harardhere, about 275 kilometres from the coast (Dawan Africa, 10 April 2026). In March 2026 the ministry met US embassy officials and American investors about oil and mining (Radio Dalsan, March 2026).
• Minerals: the ministry has asked Türkiye for help to map mineral reserves (Dawan Africa) and has warned against petroleum and mineral deals made outside the federal framework (Dawan Africa).

For the wider story of oil in Somalia, see Oil and gas and Türkiye's military in Somalia.

How the work is shared

How oil and mineral income is shared between the federal government and the member states is one of the open questions of the constitutional review. Puntland runs its own petroleum agency and has signed its own exploration deals, and Somaliland licenses exploration in its own territory (Offshore Technology).

Its legal basis

The Petroleum Law of 2020, and the ministry's mandate from the Council of Ministers under the 2012 Provisional Constitution, as amended in 2024 and 2026.