The US oil company Anadarko (ex-Kerr-McGee) said they have no role in the development of the Kosmos Energy's block offshore Western Sahara.
The US oil company Kosmos Energy is operator of the controversial Boujdour block offshore occupied Western Sahara. The oil exploration in the territory is in violation to international law, according to the UN.
In a report from April 2008, Kosmos Energy stated that it has a “joint development team with Anadarko” - without specifying which blocks or projects the development team is cooperating on.
Interestingly, Anadarko Petroleum Corp is the same company that acquired the Boujdour block's former operator, Kerr-McGee, in 2006.
In 2011, and again in 2012, the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara asked whether Anadarko cooperates with Kosmos on the development of Kerr-McGees's former block.
Any such cooperation has now been denied by Anadarko.
"We have no interest in that block", replied an Anadarko spokesman to Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara this February.
Anadarko is operating in a number of countries internationally, including in Morocco's neigbougring country Algeria. It has also exploration programme in the southeastern part of Morocco proper.
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.