French Oil Company “Total” pulls out of Western Sahara

French oil company “Total” has decided to withdraw from the occupied Western Sahara and not to renew a license of oil exploration in the territory under UN responsibility pending the completion of its decolonization.

This was revealed Tuesday in a statement to “Echorouk” by Mr Mohamed Khaddad, Coordinator with the “MINURSO” mission in charge of the natural resources file who said that such a decision is positive and consistent with international law,” He further called on foreign oil companies activating in the occupied Western Sahara, through illegal agreements with the Moroccan regime, to follow in the path of “Total” and retreat, considering their presence in the territory as a flagrant violation of international law and an encouragement to the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. He also confirmed that the Sahrawi Republic will spare no effort in order to exercise pressure on other foreign companies to pull out, including resorting to legal means. Total’s decision comes less than two weeks after the annulment by the European Union Court of Justice of the EU-Morocco trade agreement because it included the occupied territory of Western Sahara.

In this context, the observatory of the natural resources of Western Sahara, Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), denounced the oil exploration by foreign companies in the Saharawi territorial waters, calling for “the immediate cessation” of the oil exploration operations by foreign companies, including the American company “Kosmos Energy”. The president of the (WSRW) Observatory, Erik Hagen, stated to this effect that foreign companies “have no right whatsoever to explore resources in the Sahrawi regions, without the consent of the Saharawi people who utterly reject these illegal operations.” Erik Hagen underlined that the explorations carried out notably by American company Kosmos Energy “hinder peace efforts spearheaded by the United Nations in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara”. “The exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara, not taking into account the interests of the Saharan people is a blatant violation of the principles of international law”, the former legal counsel of the United Nations, Hans Corell, wrote in an article published on the website of the International Judicial Monitor.