San Leon Energy, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is an oil and gas exploration company with assets and operations in Albania, France, Ireland, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, and Morocco.[1]
As part of its Morocco operations, San Leon drills in Western Sahara.[2] In 2015, the company reported finding gas in its Laayoune-4 well, and announced that it would be applying, in conjunction with Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), for a new eight-year license to continue exploration.[3] When asked about the company’s operations in Western Sahara, San Leon’s lawyer, Daniel Martin, said the company has not talked with the Saharawis since they are “not a representative people.”[4]
[1] San Leon Energy plc, “Operations and Assets: Spain,” http://www.sanleonenergy.com/operations-and-assets.aspx#spain.
[2] San Leon Energy plc, Annual Report and Accounts, 2015, p. 18, http://www.sanleonenergy.com/media/2398325/san-leon-ar-2015.pdf.
[3] Western Sahara Resource Watch, “San Leon Hits Gas in Occupied Western Sahara,” October 1, 2015, http://www.wsrw.org/a105x3270.
[4] Western Sahara Resource Watch, “San Leon: ‘Saharawis Are Not Representative,’” August 8, 2011, http://wsrw.org/a204x2089.
