Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) on 11 May wrote that Glencore had exited the Foum Ognit block in occupied Western Sahara, and that it was also in the process to exit the neighbour block, Boujdour Offshore Shallow, which it operates.

The oil exploration in Western Sahara was found by the UN to be in violation of international law if the people of Western Sahara does not consent to it. Glencore never obtained the consent of the people of the territory for the two agreements.

WSRW now sees that on 4 May, the Moroccan official gazette informed that the government had accepted the transfer of ownership.

The agreement of transfer was signed by Glencore, New Age and ONHYM on 9 January 2017, according to the gazette.

No new information has appeared relating to the Boujdour Offshore Shallow licence. Glencore announced to Swiss media in May that it is working to terminate that agreement.