La abundancia de petróleo es la desgracia del Sahara Occidental  

Fortune hunters eye Western Sahara oil riches  

Las autoridades marroquíes han concedido dos licencias de exploración petrolera en el disputado territorio del Sáhara Occidental, a pesar de un aviso legal de la ONU en 2002 cuestionando la legalidad de dicha prospección y concluyendo que la explotación de petróleo es ilegal, en todos los casos, mientras el Sáhara Occidental siga ocupado por extranjeros.

La mayoría de las empresas exploradoras renunciaron a sus actividades Offshore en el Sáhara Occidental, hace años, dadas estas conclusiones, que hacen su base legal muy cuestionable. Pero TGS-Nopec y Kerr-McGee, se las arreglaron para producir mapas detallados de los depósitos potenciales de petróleo frente a las costas del Sáhara Occidental.

Estos datos de depósitos de petróleo han sido vendidos a  Kosmos Energy, con base en Estados Unidos, por alrededor de 2 millones de dólares. Kosmos Energy, firmó un acuerdo con el gobierno marroquí el 3 de mayo de 2006, asumiendo operaciones en los lotes 1-23 de Boujdour, en alta mar y publicó sus planes para explorar la concesión, indignando a los activistas pro-saharauis con el anuncio de la instalación de la primera exploración en alta mar del Sáhara Occidental para 2009.La cartografía geológica y sísmica de los lotes de Boujdour, habían revelado la gran posibilidad de encontrar grandes reservas de petróleo en alta mar del Sáhara Occidental. Los datos mostraron "rocas con potencial petrolero" del Jurásico y Cretácico que han demostrado ser rica en petróleo, en otros lugares, además de un gran número de áreas potenciales petroleras de gran tamaño. Kosmos Energy, en su búsqueda de inversores, presenta su operación como la de una "compañía de exploración de oportunidad de frontera”, alegando que las operaciones de Boujdour implican un "alto riesgo", pero potencialmente, una "recompensa muy alta".

Actualmente, Kosmos Energy tiene su propia evaluación particular del riesgo político de la explotación de yacimientos de petróleo del Sahara Occidental en alta mar. La compañía apunta a "los recientes progresos sustanciales en la solución de la situación política" en la ONU, donde todos los otros analistas hablan de un punto muerto entre Marruecos y las posiciones saharauis. Pero otras compañías más grandes, están evaluando  constantemente el equilibrio del riesgo político contra los potenciales ingresos.  

Fuentes del sector offshore español que hablaron con afrol News anonimamente, dicen que las empresas que se vieron obligados a retirarse de las operaciones en alta mar en el Sáhara Occidental entre  2003-2005, debido a la presión internacional, han firmado acuerdos secretos con la compañía petrolera marroquí ONHYM (antiguamente ONAREP) . Estos acuerdos permitirían su rápido regreso tan pronto como la situación política mejorara o cuando grandes compañías comenzaran operaciones en estos campos. Especialmente TOTAL (anteriormente TotalFinaElf), que se retiró en noviembre de 2004, fue mencionada como una empresa que tiene contratos que garantizan su inminente y rápido retorno al Sáhara Occidental.Conocedores del sector no descartan que las empresas pequeñas y desconocidas que operan en el Sáhara Occidental, en efecto, están actuando en nombre de las multinacionales petroleras mejor establecidas. Mientras, el activista pro-saharaui, Ronny Hansen, advierte que "en el momento en que Kosmos empiece la perforación, probablemente tendrá que enfrentar acciones legales", algunos observadores suponen que esto es exactamente lo que el sector quiere conseguir. Kosmos y sus inversores, de esta manera, serían conejillos de indias, para ver que acciones legales enfrentarían las grandes empresas. Esto puede ocurrir cuando la empresas de "alto riesgo / muy alta recompensa " anuncien que el potencial petrolífero del lote Boujdour ya está comprobado. En tierra firme, la situación está aún más dominada por pequeñas compañías, compañías coaligadas y cazadores de fortuna - o "cínicos temerarios" como Mr. Hansen, al que llaman presidente del Comité Noruego de Apoyo al Sáhara Occidental.

En diciembre de 2006, tres empresas se adjudicaron una licencia exclusiva, de 12 meses, para el reconocimiento en la Cuenca Zag (también conocida como Cuenca Tindouf) cerca del pueblo de Smara en el desierto del Sáhara Occidental. Las tres empresas son: Island Oil & Gas  registrada en Irlanda, San León registrada en Marruecos y la más desconocida, GB Oil & Gas Venture registrada en Jersey. Entre estas tres mini-empresas, Island Oil es la principal y controla la mayoría de las actividades de sus partners.

La región de Smara está "virtualmente inexplorada", según las empresas. Pero San Leon confirma que se ha hecho un descubrimiento de gas y es promisoria en petróleo - aunque no es seguro que estos descubrimientos se encuentran en el lado marroquí o saharaui de la inestable frontera. Por el lado de la frontera de Argelia, los descubrimientos de petróleo y gas, se han hecho bajo las mismas condiciones geológicas.En comparación con el potencial de la renombrada Cuenca Zag, los empresarios son pequeños y extraños. GB Oil es practicamente desconocida en el sector y ni siquiera tiene un sitio web. San Leon solo se presentó a los inversores en Internet hace unos meses (mediados de 2006), pero sigue siendo virtualmente una empresa unipersonal, dirigida por Philip Thompson.

Philip Thompson, un hombre de negocios de EE.UU., registró San Leon en Marruecos en 2002. Pero activistas saharauis investigando la experiencia geofísica de San León, afirman que sólo es un títere de Island Oil. Del Sr. Thompson se dice que es "empleado por” y “reporta directamente” a Paul Griffiths, director ejecutivo de Island Oil". Él es también el que firmó el contrato de Island Oil en Marruecos.

Pero también Island Oil & Gas - que se registró en Irlanda en 2003, tiene intereses offshore en Irlanda y los Países Bajos - está llena de sorpresas. Carl Kindinger, director no ejecutivo de la compañía, con sede en Arabia Saudí y el principal apoyo saudí de Island Oil, el señor Badr Al-Aiban, poseen alrededor del 30 por ciento de las acciones de la compañía. Al-Aiban es conocido por su anteriores tratos con Afganistán. Platinum Petroleum controla el 34 por ciento de Island Oil y tiene su razón social también en Arabia Saudita.

 Igualmente sorprendente es la participación sudafricana y sueca en Island Oil, dado el fuerte apoyo pro-saharauis de los gobiernos de esos dos países. RMB Resources, parte del First Rand Group de Sudáfrica, financió directamente la expansión de Island Oil en el Sáhara Occidental en diciembre de 2006. Mientras tanto, la sueca Lundin Petroleum tiene una participación del 5,3 por ciento en Island Oil a pesar de la insistencia del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Estocolmo sobre el respeto del derecho internacional en el Sáhara Occidental. Suecia se opuso al acuerdo pesquero de la UE con Marruecos en 2006, por tal motivo.

Como los nuevos compromisos en el Sáhara Occidental empiezan a darse a conocer, el movimiento de Solidaridad con el Sáhara Occidental y el gobierno en el exilio de Sáhara Occidental están planeando sus próximos movimientos. Mr. Hansen del Comité Noruego de Apoyo al Sáhara Occidental, dijo que la primera prioridad de la red internacional Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) es informar al público y a los gobiernos de Suecia y Sudáfrica para asegurar la retirada de Lundin Petroleum y RBM Resources, y que otros inversionistas también serán contactados. No se descarta que las medidas legales podrían tomarse contra todas o cualquiera de las empresas extranjeras involucradas.

Ahmed Boukhari, representante del gobierno saharaui en la ONU, declaró a afrol News que "condenamos cualquier intento de cualquiera de las empresas extranjeras, envueltas con las fuerzas de ocupación marroquíes en la explotación, extracción o comercialización de los recursos del Sáhara Occidental." Señaló la posición jurídica de la ONU de 2002, considerando ilegal cualquier explotación de los recursos del Sáhara Occidental.

El gobierno saharaui en el exilio también ha comenzado a expedir licencias de exploración a las empresas petroleras extranjeras para la participación futura en el territorio. Pero "preferimos que cualquier interés potencial en nuestros recursos se postergue hasta la resolución legal, justa y definitiva del conflicto, a fin de saber cuál es la autoridad legal y legítima que participa en la firma de contratos con empresas extranjeras", concluyó Boukhari.

Business & Human Rights : Kosmos Energy 9 Jun 2007 ... Moroccan authorities...have granted two oil exploration licences on...Western Sahara, despite a legal notice from the UN in 2002 questioning the legality of such exploration and concluding that further oil exploitation in all circumstances would be illegal as long as Western Sahara remains occupied. ...www.business-humanrights.org › ... › K - En caché - Similares 

Fortune hunters eye Western Sahara oil riches

Kosmos Energy report on the Boujdour offshore field:

«A high risk and a very high reward.»

© afrol News

afrol News, 9 June

Moroccan authorities currently have granted two oil exploration licences on the disputed territory of Western Sahara, despite a legal notice from the UN in 2002 questioning the legality of such exploration and concluding that further oil exploitation in all circumstances would be illegal as long as Western Sahara remains occupied.

Offshore, most exploring companies gave up their Western Sahara activities a few years ago, following the conclusion that their legal base was questionable. But TGS-Nopec and Kerr-McGee nevertheless managed to produce detailed maps on potential oil deposits off the coast of Western Sahara.

These data and their processing have now been sold to the US-based Kosmos Energy for around US$ 2 million. Kosmos Energy on 3 May 2006 signed an agreement with the Moroccan government, assuming operatorship of the Boujdour offshore blocks 1-23 and last month, the company published its plans for its Boujdour concession, shocking pro-Sahrawi activists with an announcement it was to install a first-ever exploration well offshore Western Sahara in 2009.

The geological and seismic mapping of the Boujdour blocks had revealed the best possible chances of finding large oil reservoirs offshore Western Sahara. Data showed Jurassic and Cretaceous "potential source rocks" that have proven oil-rich on other locations, in addition to a great number of potential oil catchment areas and "very large structural closures" potentially hosting large oil reservoirs.

Kosmos Energy, in its search for investors, presents its operations as a "company-making frontier exploration opportunity," saying the Boujdour operations involve a "high risk" but potentially a "very high reward."

Currently, Kosmos Energy has its own peculiar assessment of the political risk of exploiting Western Sahara offshore oil reservoirs. The company points to "substantial recent progress in resolving the political situation" in the UN, where all other analysts speak of a deadlock between Moroccan and Sahrawi positions. But other - larger - companies are constantly assessing the balance of political risk contra potential revenues.

Sources from the Spanish offshore sector that spoke to afrol News on conditions of anonymity say that companies that were forced to withdraw from Western Sahara offshore operation in 2003-05 due to international pressure have signed secret agreements with the Moroccan oil company ONHYM (formerly Onarep). These agreements would allow for their quick return as soon as the political situation improves or as major operations by other companies start on these fields. Especially Total (formerly TotalFinaElf), which withdrew in November 2004, was mentioned as a company having secured contracts assuring their quick return to Western Sahara.

Sector insiders do not rule out that the small and rather unknown companies operating in Western Sahara are indeed acting on behalf of the more established oil multinationals. While pro-Sahrawi activist Ronny Hansen warns that "the moment Kosmos starts drilling, it will probably have to face legal action", some insiders assume that this is exactly what the sector wants to achieve. Kosmos and its investors may thus be the legal test case for larger companies. This may be where the company's "high risk/very high reward" announcement has its base, as analysts agree that the oil potential of the Boujdour block is already proven.

Onshore, the situation is even more dominated by small and interwoven companies and fortune hunters - or "reckless cynics" as Mr Hansen, chairman of the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara calls them.

In December 2006 three companies were awarded an exclusive 12 month reconnaissance licence in the Zag Basin (also known as Tindouf Basin) close to the Western Sahara desert town of Smara. The three are Ireland-registered Island Oil & Gas, Moroccan-registered San Leon and the rather unknown, Jersey-registered GB Oil & Gas Ventures. Among these three mini-companies, Island Oil is the main player, controlling most activities by the two other partners.

The Smara area is "virtually unexplored," according to the companies. But San Leon confirms that there has been made one gas discovery and some "strong oil shows" in the area - although it is unsure whether these discoveries are located on the Moroccan or Sahrawi side of the dysfunctional border. On the Algerian side of the border, gas and oil discoveries have been made under similar geological conditions.

Compared to the renowned potential of the Zag Basin, the players are small and odd. GB Oil is generally unknown to the sector and does not even have a website. San Leon only presented itself to investors on the Internet a few months ago but remains virtually a one-man company, run by Philip Thompson.

Mr Thompson, a US businessman, registered San Leon in Morocco in 2002. But Sahrawi activists researching the experienced geophysics' background hold San Leon is only a stooge for Island Oil. Mr Thompson is said to be "employed by and reports directly to Paul Griffiths, CEO of Island Oil." He is also the one who signed Island Oil's contract in Morocco.

But also the Island Oil & Gas - which only was registered in Ireland in 2003 and has offshore interests in Ireland and the Netherlands - is full of surprises. Carl Kindinger, the company's non-executive director, is based in Saudi Arabia and Island Oil's main Saudi backer, Badr Al-Aiban, owns around 30 percent of company shares. Mr Al-Aiban is known for his earlier dealing with Afghanistan. Platinum Petroleum controls 34 percent of Island Oil and is also based in Saudi Arabia.

Equally surprising is the South African and Swedish involvement in Island Oil, given the strong pro-Sahrawi support by the governments of those two countries. RMB Resources, part of the First Rand Group of South Africa, directly financed Island Oil's expansion into Western Sahara in December 2006. Meanwhile, Sweden's Lundin Petroleum holds a 5.3 percent stake in Island despite the Stockholm Foreign Ministry's insistence on the respect for international law in Western Sahara. Sweden opposed the EU fisheries agreement with Morocco in 2006 on such grounds.

As the new engagements in Western Sahara start to get known, the Western Sahara solidarity movement and the exiled government of Western Sahara are planning their next moves. Mr Hansen of the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara said that the first priority of the international network Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) is to inform the public and the governments of Sweden and South Africa to assure disengagement from Lundin and RBM Resources, and that other investors also would be contacted. He would not rule out that legal steps might be taken against all or any of the involved foreign companies.

Ahmed Boukhari, the Representative of the Sahrawi government to the UN, today told afrol News that "we condemn any attempt of any foreign companies to get involved through the Moroccan occupying power in the exploitation, extraction or commercialisation of Western Sahara resources." He pointed to the UN's 2002 legal opinion, considering illegal any exploitation of Western Sahara resources.

The exiled Sahrawi government has also started issuing exploration licenses to foreign oil companies for future engagement in the territory. But "we prefer that any potential interest in our resources be delayed until the legal, just and lasting resolution of the conflict, so as to know which authority is legal and legitimate to engage in signing contracts with foreign companies," Mr Boukhari concluded.

By staff writers

© afrol News

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Mixing Occuption and Oil in Western Sahara

 by Jacob Mundy, Special to CorpWatch

July 21st, 2005

cartoon by Khalil Bendib

"We preferred that occupation," Salim says, pointing to the Spanish news channel on his television, "to this one," he says gesturing toward Moroccan settlers walking past his West Saharan shop window. 

Western Sahara is a disputed territory sandwiched between Mauritania and Morocco, on the north African coast of the Atlantic ocean. The current struggle for control began in 1975 when Spain ended its colonial occupation and rule of Western Sahara and hastily handed over administration of its former colony to Morocco. Refugees fleeing the homes in Western Sahara, joined the nascent independence movement named Polisario, and declared the region a sovereign republic, setting off a guerrilla war. 

Today, if the Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corporation gets its way and begins extracting oil and gas in contested Western Sahara, another volatile element will be added to the region's long-standing dispute.

History of Western Sahara:1400s: Nomadic tribes from Yemen invade the Sahara. Mixing with the local indigenous population of Saharan Berbers, they form the people who now inhabit the westernmost Sahara.1884: Spain establishes a "protectorate" over what is now called the Western Sahara. The colony, the Spanish Sahara, lasts until 1975.1973: Several Saharans form a liberation movement named after the two regions of the Western Sahara: Popular Front for the liberation of the Saqiyah al-Hamra and the R�o De Oro (Polisario Front).1975: Although the International Court of Justice dismisses his historical claim to the Western Sahara, Morocco's King Hassan II announces that he will march 350,000 Moroccan civilians into the Spanish Sahara to "reclaim" it from Madrid. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's advice to his staff shortly before the march was "Just turn it over to the UN with the guarantee it will go to Morocco." The U.S. representative at the United Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, later bragged, "In both [East Timor and Western Sahara] the United States wished things to turn out as they did, and worked to bring this about. The Department of States desired that the United Nations prove utterly ineffective in whatever measures it undertook. This task was given to me, and I carried it forward with no inconsiderable success."

1976: Nearly half the indigenous Western Saharan population flees to Algeria for protection, with many joining the independence movement, the Polisario Front. At the end of February, as Spain formally withdraws, Polisario declares the birth of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Today the refugee population is estimated at 150,000 dispersed between four camps near Tindouf, Algeria.

1976-1991: Morocco and Polisario wage war for the Western Sahara; Morocco is able to restrict Polisario attacks by bisecting the territory with a heavily mined and manned sand wall, called the berm.

1981: Reagan administration reverses the Carter administration's Western Saharan policy and starts massively funding the Moroccan military effort. IMF and Saudi Arabia help offset the costs for Morocco.

1991: United Nations mission arrives in the Western Sahara to organize the referendum and maintain a cease-fire between the two sides. Although colonial authorities had only counted some 74,000 Western Saharans of all ages in 1974, Morocco managed to find some 170,000 voting-age Saharans that Spain somehow missed.

1997: Former US Secretary of State James Baker revives stalled peace process.

1999: King Hassan II dies; his son, Mohammed VI assumes the throne.

2000: In the shadow of the UN's 1999 East Timor debacle, Western policy makers fear that a vote for independence might jeopardize the rule of the young King Mohammed. Security Council pushes Baker to propose an alternative solution more favorable to Morocco.

2001-2003: Baker presents two proposals that would allow Moroccan settlers to vote in a referendum along with Western Saharans after a four-year "autonomy" period. Morocco accepts the former but rejects the latter, claiming it will not have its "territorial integrity" put to a vote.

October 2001: Kerr-McGee and Total enter into reconnaissance contracts with Morocco for areas off the coast of the Western Sahara.

2005: In late May there is a large pro-independence uprising in the Moroccan occupied Western Sahara, which is quickly repressed by Moroccan forces.  

On the dusty streets of the sleepy Western Saharan capital, Al-'Ayun, where I met Salim, and around the world, Morocco finds little open support for its continued occupation. Not one country or international organization recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. The United Nations defines the largely uninhabited Colorado-sized area as Africa's last remaining colony.

But Morocco has found allies in its claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara in the corporate world. One of its more recent friends is Kerr-McGee. In 2001, the company signed a hydrocarbon "reconnaissance permit" with the Moroccan government to explore areas off the coast of the Western Sahara. Since inking the deal, Kerr-McGee has been assessing the results of a "large 2D seismic grid" of the region and a 2004 "drop core survey." Kerr-McGee has renewed its contract several times, with the current agreement set to expire this October.

A Fortune 500 company founded in 1929, with more than $5 billion in revenue in 2004 and over $14 billion in global assets, Kerr-McGee "is one of the largest U.S.-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, with proved reserves of more than 1.2 billion barrels of oil," according to its website.

The area of Kerr-McGee's interest, the Boujdour Block, is a 27 million acre expanse claimed by Western Sahara. The Block stretches from the Sahara's cliff-lined shores to depths of more than 10,000 feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Are there significant quantities of oil and gas off the shore of the Western Sahara? No one knows for sure. In neighboring Mauritania, Woodside Petroleum, Australia's second-biggest oil and gas company is expected to start pumping in 2006. The Chinese government is also heavily involved in offshore Mauritanian petroleum prospects. From the middle of the Sahara to all along the coast, West Africa is fast becoming an importance source of oil and gas for the United States.

But in Western Sahara, with uncertainty about ownership adding to the risk, oil companies are reluctant to commit resources. French oil "supermajor" Total, which also contracted with the Moroccan government in 2001 to explore off the Saharan shores, withdrew in 2004 for "business" reasons.

The Norwegian geological survey firm TGS-Nopec has also abandoned its interests in the area. Contracted to carry out the research for Total and Kerr-McGee, and with 85 percent of its survey completed, TGS bowed to intense grassroots pressure in 2003. After dozens of shareholders divested, TGS issued a public statement announcing that it "has decided not to undertake any new projects in Western Sahara without a change in political developments." The subsequent withdrawal of two minor companies for similar reasons left Kerr-McGee as the only foreign company working with Moroccan oil interests in the area. 

For now, Kerr-McGee is holding firm and keeping quiet about its Saharan prospects. "[U]ntil we have completed the analysis and evaluation we cannot speculate on future activities," external communications specialist John Christiansen told Corpwatch.

Kerr-McGee's stockholders may also be less than fully informed about the risks of investing in a contested territory. In its 2004 report and a letter to shareholders, Morocco-but not Western Sahara--appears under a map titled "Targeting World Class Prospects." And although the words "Western Sahara" appeared in Kerr-McGee's 2003 report, the reference was omitted in the 2004 version.

Western Sahara is far more visible at the United Nations where its fate is under the management of the Security Council. That body is torn between Morocco's close relations with several permanent members, especially France and the United States, and the Western Saharans' right of self-determination under customary international law.

The right goes back to 1974 when Spain promised the Western Saharans a chance to hold a popular referendum on whether they wanted to join with Morocco or become independent. Before the vote could be held, Morocco invaded, claiming the Western Sahara as a historical part of Morocco. Since 1991 the United Nations has been promising the Western Saharans another chance to vote, but fearing it might lead to independence, Morocco has rejected any proposal that challenges its "territorial integrity."

"This issue is really not unlike the Arab-Israeli dispute: two different peoples claiming the same land," said James Baker, former U.S. secretary of state and key UN mediator in the dispute between 1997 and 2004 . "One is very strong, one has won the war, one is in occupation and the other is very weak," he told Wide Angle, a New York television show produced for the national Public Broadcasting Service (PBS.)

With the discovery of significant hydrocarbon deposits in the Western Sahara, the power equation has grown more complex. The potential wealth provides the Moroccan government with strong motivation to hold onto the contested territory and to shun the peace process.

"Morocco is seeking to impose a fait accompli," said Kamel Fadel, a representative with the Western Sahara government in exile, "as well as implicate foreign companies and interests in its illegal occupation of our country."

Kerr-McGee contends that its interests are not biasing the peace process. "Kerr-McGee, by its Reconnaissance Permit, has not prejudged or prejudiced such efforts, and we hope to make a contribution to the development of this area and its people," Christiansen told CorpWatch. 

The Norwegian government, for one, believes that Kerr-McGee's actions are indeed prejudicial. Citing its own ethical guidelines, the Finance Ministry's advisory council called on the national retirement fund to divest its $52 million in Kerr-McGee stock: "The Council regarded [the exploration] as 'a particularly serious violation of fundamental ethical norms' e.g. because it may strengthen Morocco's sovereignty claims and thus contribute to undermining the UN peace process."

"It actually says in the Petroleum Fund's ethical guidelines that it is highly problematic to invest in occupied and Non-Self Governing Territories," said Ronny Hansen, spokesperson for the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara, which helped bring the situation to his government's attention. "The guidelines also make specific reference to Western Sahara. So when we called for disinvestment, the fund had an easy decision to make."

Hansen hopes that a mix of public exposure and financial divestment will drive Kerr-McGee out of the Western Sahara. Responding to Kerr-McGee's claim that its contract with Morocco, in its present form, is perfectly legal, Hansen argues, "Kerr-McGee offers political legitimization to the Moroccan occupation and contributes in escalating the conflict. This is crystal clear."

Kerr-McGee spokesperson Christiansen countered: "Again, we support the ongoing efforts of the United Nations to find a permanent and amicable solution to the Western Sahara issue. Kerr-McGee, by its Reconnaissance Permit, has not prejudged or prejudiced such efforts." 

Not only are there serious questions as to whether Kerr-McGee is helping Rabat (the Moroccan capital) strengthen its hold on the Western Sahara, and thereby undermining the peace process, but Morocco may not have a legal right to offer oil and gas exploration contracts in the contested territory.

Given the Western Sahara's international status as a colony (i.e., a Non-Self-Governing Territory), the United Nations called for an official legal opinion in 2001, shortly after Morocco offered the Western Saharan concessions to Kerr-McGee and Total.

The following February, UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell, offered an opinion that gave ammunition to both sides.

"The UN under-secretary for legal affairs has confirmed that we acted lawfully in contracting with Morocco," Christiansen told CorpWatch. "Neither the United States nor the United Nations recognizes any other administrative authority or government in that territory."

In Kerr-McGee's favor, Corell's opinion said, "The specific contracts are not in themselves illegal."

But Fadel, representing the government in exile, counters that by undermining the legitimacy of Morocco's occupation, the opinion actually confirms the illegality of Kerr-McGee's contracts.

Another passage in Corell's opinion seems to support Fadel: "[I]f further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara," the UN official wrote, "they would be in violation of the principles of international law applicable to mineral resource activities in Non-Self-Governing Territories."

In its most simple form, the issue may boil down to the common sense proposition that only the side with legal sovereignty can legally grant exploration and extraction rights.

According to Corell, the 1975 Madrid Agreement "did not transfer sovereignty over the Territory, nor did it confer upon any of the signatories the status of an administering Power, a status which Spain alone could not have unilaterally transferred."

"[A]s far as International Law is concerned," Spanish foreign minister Miguel �ngel Moratinos recently told the Spanish parliament, "Spain remains the administering power [of the Western Sahara]" and its hand off to Morocco was never legal.

Even Morocco's allies have had to clarify their position on the status of the Western Sahara. On the conclusion of a bilateral free trade deal with Morocco in July 2004, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said "The United States and many other countries do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and have consistently urged the parties to work with the United Nations to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. The Free Trade Agreement will not include Western Sahara."

Despite the Rabat's intransigence and Kerr-McGee's legal parsing, the exiled Saharan government has remained optimistic. It has even offered its own licenses to competing oil companies for the same areas off the Western Saharan coast, although these deals will only come to fruition if their nation achieves independence.

Fadel is certain that this will happen soon enough. "Most colonial powers cling to power until the last minute and Morocco is not an exception," he said. "The [Moroccan] regime knows deep inside that they have failed to win the heart and minds of the Saharan people despite 30 years of occupation and that they have to leave sooner or later. Our hope rests on our faith in the determination and will of our people and the justice of our cause."

Jacob Mundy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco (1999-2001) and is a member of Western Sahara Resource Watch. He is the coauthor of a forthcoming book on the conflict with Stephen Zunes.

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