Initium energy Western Sahara

Why is Western Sahara so important?

Rich in resources and small in population, Western Sahara, victim since 1975 of a brutal and illegal Moroccan occupation, has a history shaped to a large extent by its immense resources. Indeed, natural resources have always been at the centre of the Western Sahara conflict, and were a key demand of the anti-Spanish protestors in the early 1970s.

How interdisciplinary is research on natural resource exploitation in Western Sahara?

The production of research on natural resource exploitation in Western Sahara is accelerating. Yet this field remains interdisciplinary, and the work is carried out by researchers from academic, non-academic, and activist backgrounds, with sometimes very different aims and envisaged audiences.

Is Morocco dependent on Western Sahara for its energy supply?

But these developments have made Morocco partly dependent on Western Sahara for its energy supply. Morocco already gets 18% of its installed wind capacity and 15% of its solar from the occupied territory, and by 2030 that could increase to almost half of its wind and up to a third of its solar.

Why is Western Sahara so rich?

Rich in resources and small in population, Western Sahara, partially occupied since 1975 by neighbouring Morocco, has a history shaped to a large extent by its natural wealth. Indeed, sovereignty over the country’s phosphates became a key claim of the pro-independence, anti-Spanish Saharawi movement in the early 1970s.

What role did natural resources play in the Western Sahara conflict?

The majority of research undertaken from a historical perspective on the role of natural resources in the Western Sahara conflict focuses on phosphates. Both Lalutte (1976) and Camprubí (2015) see the potential exploitation of phosphates as the key factor in motivating Morocco to invade Western Sahara.

Does Cairn Energy have a'strategic presence' in Morocco?

Simon Thomson, CEO of Cairn Energy commented that his company’s share in the farm-in Agreement would build on its existing ‘strategic presence’ in ‘Morocco’ (Thomson 2013). His key mistake was that the block to be explored – Cap Boujdour Offshore – is not in Morocco at all, but off the shores of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.