Oil In Somalia Italy v India, 1990

Historical Background Italian Somaliland was an Italian colony and in later years the Trust Territory of Somalia until 1960 when Somalia was granted independence. During this period Italians made up a significant proportion of the population. Somalia’s history of oil exploration dates back several decades. During colonialism, Italian and British geologists were the first to identify oil seeps. Starting in the early 1950s, Italy-based Agip (now Eni) and US-based Sinclair Oil Corporation began to study the petroleum geology of Somalia. This was followed by another major phase of hydrocarbon exploration in the late 1980s, spearheaded by ConocoPhillips, Shell (Pectin), Eni, Amoco, Total and Texaco. (Oil In Somalia – Adding Fuel to the Fire?, Dominik Balthasar) Scenario Background In an attempt to stabilise his government the Barre regime has granted oil exploration rights to ENI oil and allowed basing of our troops and aircraft in northern Somalia. However, the civil war has escalated and the nation is in a state of chaos, the civil government close to complete collapse Nine Days ago the Indian air force dropped troops provide ‘humanitarian aid’ to the small port town of Eyl. It is clear the Indians are establishing a foothold attempting land grabs and expansion of an Indian controlled Indian Ocean. Oman, historically a strong ally of India, has allowed refuelling of Indian aircraft transiting through to the small airfield at Eyl. The Marines of the San Marco regiment have been loaded onto the LPD’s San Giorgio and San Marco and are tasked to land at Eyl and re-establish control of the airfield and expel the Indian troops. All Indian forces are to be considered Hostile Designers Notes Most Airfields in Somalia were very underdeveloped and lack infrastructure, the number of aircraft that can be based on them is very small. The Italian Harriers were not available in 1990.