Petronas to Resume Oil Exploration in Ethiopia, Reporter Says

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd. will drill three exploration wells at the Ogaden basin in eastern Ethiopia, almost two years after pulling out of the region, the Reporter said, citing unidentified sources. Malaysia’s Petronas has hired a Dubai-based exploration company to replace China’s Zhonguyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, which refuses to go back to the region, the Addis Ababa- based newspaper said.
Petronas suspended exploration at Ogaden in April 2007 after the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an ethnic Somali separatist group, attacked a Chinese-run exploration site, killing 65 Ethiopian and nine Chinese workers. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.