The Ethiopian government has reached a peace deal with a rebel group active in a gas-rich region that the authorities had classified as a terrorist organization, Reuters reports, citing government officials. The region that ONLF wanted to secede contains oil and gas resources estimated at about four trillion cu ft combined, according to the Ethiopian government. A Chinese company, China Poly Group, has been producing gas in the region since 2013 and earlier this year began pumping oil from a field in Ogaden. At the time, Bloomberg reported, the Ethiopian government had estimated the initial income from the project at US$1.2 billion annually. Bloomberg also cited government estimates that put the Ogaden oil and gas reserves at double the figure reported by Reuters: 8 trillion cu ft.

Source: Ethiopian News October 22, 2018 14:39 UTC