.

Lets end there.

DC - I have already answered the off coast comment. I have gone on to explain that the security situation on land is perhaps also a concern, Something like this for example:

Las Anod Fierce fighting between the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Wednesday took place in Taleh area in Sool region of northern Somalia, officials said.

The fighting has broken out as Puntland forces ambushed a Somaliland delegation in Taleh area which is close to Garowe, the capital of Puntland.

At least three people have been killed and seven others injured during in the armed confrontation.

"Early this morning, an incident occurred in the area of Taleh District of Puntland State of Somalia, between Puntland Defense Forces and an armed convoy led by Somaliland MP Saleban Yusuf Ali Kore, who was accompanied by an armed soldiers and some civilians" said a statement from Puntland.

During the clash, the two parts have used both heavy and light weapons as the crackling machine gun fire could be heard at Taleh area and its suburbs.

Puntland Defense Forces arrested 19 persons including military commander Mohamed Dhodi and seized three vehicles, according to the Puntland statement.

This appeared today on allAfrica.com

Don't worry DC, 3monkies says it will do well, can't fail then!
She / he may of course be proven correct.

Incidentally DC, RRL state on their most recent presentation dated 30 March 2011 that they are 'still pursuing offshore opportunities with Government and third parties.' This comment appears under the slide headed Puntland.

Have RRL changed this intent since March? Or has your 100s of hours of research missed this bit?

I am a bitch, so if it does well then she will be proved right/ if not then she will be proved wrong. Hopefully the bitch will be proved right. Amen and nite nite.

You seem to have low self-esteem issues 3monkies

That is where you are sooooooooooooooooo wrong.

It all seems like business as usual. Australian Securities
Exchange and Alternative Investment Market-listed Range
Resources has announced a new financial agreement with its
joint venture partner Canada-based Africa Oil Corporation
(AOC), for a second exploration well due to be spudded by
September. This will be included as part of AOCs exploration
commitments,which oblige it to spend $22.5m in Dharoor and
Nugaal before Range reverts to a contributing basis. A Range
company report says AOC has satisfied its commitments with
regard to Dharoor, but still has around $15m to pay on Nugaal.
AOCs production-sharing agreements (PSAs) with the selfdeclared
autonomous state of Puntland for the Dharoor and
NugaalValley exploration areas have been extended for 12 more
months, to 17 January 2012. AOC must spud at least one well
in the DharoorValley by 27 July, and a second well in either the
Nugaal or Dharoor by 27 September.
Meanwhile, the Puntland government has approved the farmout
to Perth-based Red Emperor Resources of a 20% interest in
each of the PSAs; this was announced last June. Canada-based
Lion Energy Corporation is also part of the PSA.
Pirates still a problem
AOC sees analogues between the rift basins of Puntland and
geologically related basins in Yemen. But geology is not the
biggest problem. Drilling had been scheduled for July 2008,
but was delayed because of security concerns over piracy (AE
138/13). Two years on, and Somali pirates continue to pose
serious obstacles to the international shipping community. They
were responsible for 44% of the 289 piracy incidents on the
worlds seas in January-September 2010, according to the
International Chamber of Commerces International Maritime
Bureau (IMB). Of 39 ship hijackings, 35 were carried out by
Somali pirates, who appear to be gaining in confidence by
carrying out more attacks away from their own coast. The
IMBs 2011 live piracy map shows a heavy concentration of
pirates off the coast of Oman.
Pirates are heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocketpropelled
grenades. They have been making tens of millions of
dollars in ransoms from seized ships, including tankers and dry
bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite the
efforts of foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks.
Somali pirate bases are notoriously concentrated in the northern
region of Puntland. In this context, sources told African Energy
that the Puntland government was maintaining its relationship
with a private security company linked to the founder of
BlackwaterWorldwide, Erik Prince despite a decision by the
central government in Mogadishu to end the relationship and
its insistence that this should apply to all parts of Somalia.
Saracen International,which is said to be funded by the Kuwaiti
and United Arab Emirates governments, has already begun
training a force of over 1,000 men in Puntland. It is intended
to go after pirate gangs on land and may also be deployed against
Islamist insurgents, the Associated Press reported.
Saracen signed a deal with a previous Somali government to
train a presidential guard and possibly a second anti-piracy force
of over 1,000 men in Mogadishu, but the new Somali
administration voted on 27 January to abandon the deal.
Securing concessions
The use of a private company, such as Saracen, for Puntlands
security has drawn criticism. International Crisis Group (ICG)
Horn of Africa analyst Rashid Abdi told African Energy:The
involvement of Saracen International only exacerbates the
situation this is not the first time that a private security
company has been involved in Somalia, and it is alleged that
those they trained went on to become rogue elements and were
among the first pirate groups. Private security companies are
motivated by profit not democratic reforms, and it is ill-advised
of the Kuwaiti government to be involved. He added that the
areas politics is complicated by the competition for resources
where companies are vying for concession rights.
In December, it was reported that a delegation of the Puntland
government, including President Abdirahman Mohammed
Farole and petroleum director Isse Dhollowaa, met Kuwaits
Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. While the
Kuwaiti government might be motivated to assist Puntland with
combating piracy and Islamist insurgents in the interest of
regional security, the interests of private Kuwaiti investors may
have also been influential. Kuwait Energy Company (KEC), a
private firm whose shareholders include an eclectic mix of
Kuwaiti,US and Gulf investors, is interested in concession rights
in Somalia. In 2008, KEC announced its involvement in
helping the then Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in
setting up a national oil company (AE 145/5). But, with
changes in the central government, this has not yet materialised.
Puntland partners agree financial terms and plan

Black water world wiDE are an army. A 1000 men being trained.

Blackwater: The Worlds Largest Mercenary Army
Blackwater is a company that began in 1996 as a private military training facility in it was built near the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. And visionary executives, all of them former Navy Seals or other Elite Special Forces people, envisioned it as a project that would take advantage of the anticipated government outsourcing.

Well, here we are a decade later, and its the most powerful mercenary firm in the world. It has 20,000 soldiers on the ready, the worlds largest private military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, including helicopter gunships. Its become nothing short of the Praetorian Guard for the Bush administrations so-called global war on terror. And its headed by a very rightwing Christian activist, ex-Navy Seal named Erik Prince, whose family was one of the major bankrollers of the Republican Revolution of the 1990s. He, himself, is a significant funder of President Bush and his allies.

From the elite forces

Have a look at a recent pl interveiw about off shore.

So not actually the SAS, you meant mercenaries.

you are clasping straws.

gibby has mentioned special forces as well.

gibby post 1316 ?

No I mean the SAS as well. your wrong again

I gather you have had a tough /bad day ptholden

Sorry 3 monkies what was you saying

'clasping straws'

I'm not entirely familiar with the phrase, however.......................

Your initial post intimated the British SAS were involved in Puntland, I asked you to provide evidence of such activity. What you really meant was there may be a bunch of mercenaries hired to provide security, although even your own post doesn't seem to confirm this.

Ah, Gibby, lol. He's the only poster apart from Fred1new I have on squelch, he manages to ruin every thread he posts on with his inane comments.