Genel suspends Somaliland operations, Eni’s Scaroni meets Somali leader

Genel Energy, the Nathaniel Rothschild-backed exploration company run by former BP chief executive Tony Hayward, has withdrawn its staff from Somaliland citing security concerns. As the territory itself has been untroubled by terrorist attacks in recent times, this may have been a response to broader concerns about the Somalia-based Islamist group Al-Shabaab which launched a devastating attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre in late September. “In the face of a deteriorating security situation, we are temporarily suspending our seismic operations,” a company spokesman told African Energy.