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Nigeria to Offer 56 Oil Blocks in Next Bidding Round
by Jun Yang Dow Jones Newswires Monday, November 06, 2006
SEOUL, Nov 6, 2006 (Dow Jones Newswires)
Nigeria will offer 56 crude oil blocks in its next round of bidding, Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru said Monday.
The country will make an announcement on the blocks "very soon," Daukoru said during his visit to Seoul.
Nigeria had been expected to hold a bidding round for 60 crude oil blocks before President Olusegun Obasanjo steps down next year.
At least 10 blocks in the bidding will be allocated to preferred parties with right of first refusal, according to Nigeria-based sources.
Daukoru was visiting Seoul to sign a memorandum of understanding with South Korea on oil field developments and the modernization of a railway system in the African nation.
Under the memorandum of understanding that was signed, the South Korean government is to get rights to oil blocks under production in Nigeria in exchange for a long-term, low-interest commercial loan from South Korea that will fund a 1,500-kilometer-long railway project connecting Port Hartcourt-Abuja-Maiduguri, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Shipyard wins £300m rig contract
**************************************
NOTE a Cayman Islands company - ND9
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Hundreds of jobs will be created to work on the project
A disused shipyard on Teesside will be used to construct a £300m offshore drilling platform.
Hundreds of jobs will be created to work on the contract at Haverton Hill, near Billingham, after the site was chosen by SeaDragon Offshore.
It will be the biggest non-military marine fabrication project in the UK, said regeneration agency One NorthEast.
The contract was awarded to the Tees Alliance Group, with work expected to begin in 2007.
Once complete, the platform will be used to drill for oil and gas in depths of up to 10,000ft in locations such as the Gulf, West Africa and the North Sea.
SeaDragon Offshore, a Cayman Islands company, has also announced plans to build two more identical vessels with Tees Alliance Group.
Stephen Baird, the firm's chairman, said he recognised that Teesside offered the skills to create a world class vessel.
Significant jobs
Stockton North MP Frank Cook has been campaigning for the regeneration of the Haverton Hill yard.
He said: "For over 40 years I have used every possible opportunity to tell anyone who would listen about the superb industrial skills and facilities here on Teesside - and the opportunities available for those with the right managerial attitudes and outlooks.
"I am delighted the message I gave has helped to ensure the project is now set to become a reality - once again bringing Haverton Hill back to life."
The Tees Alliance Group, which includes firms Cleveland Bridge and Sarens Cranes, said a significant number of new jobs would be created, both directly and indirectly.
Sonsub to deploy new ROV intervention vessel in West Africa
Sonsub has entered into a long term charter with vessel specialist BOURBON for the provision of a newbuild vessel to be dedicated to deeepwater intervention in West Africa.
The vessel will be named Bourbon Trieste, in honour of the famous bathyscaphe that holds the world record for deepest dive and will be delivered in the 4th quarter of 2007.
The vessel will be 85m long by 18m wide with a DP Class 2 diesel-electric propulsion system. There will be a 100t AHC knuckle-boom crane and a 10t Auxiliary crane, both with fast deepwater deployment capabilities. Based on specific job requirements, Sonsub will install one or two Innovator Heavy Work Class ROV systems with full 3,000m water depth operating capacity.
The spread will be dedicated mainly to Light Subsea Construction and IRM activities in deepwater and Sonsub believes that the combination of BOURBON and Saipem's long established expertise in West African offshore operations will lead to a very successful partnership.
http://www.shephard.co.uk/UVOnline/default.aspx?Action=-187126550&ID=0d205379-523b-4419-bcad-25e...
South Korea and Nigeria negotiate an oil-rail deal
By Choe Sang-Hun / International Herald TribunePublished: November 6, 2006
SEOUL: South Korea signed a preliminary $10 billion contract Monday to build a railroad in Nigeria in return for a stake in the African country's oil fields, officials said.
The deal is the latest in a trend among energy-hungry Asian investors' signing deals to build roads, power plants and other industrial infrastructure in Africa to win better access to energy sources.
The minister of commerce, industry and energy of South Korea, Chung Sye Kyun, and Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru of Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding shortly after Presidents Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria met here.
Under the deal, South Korea would provide long-term, low-interest loans to help Nigeria cover part of the estimated $10 billion necessary to rebuild the railroad, the South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said. The tracks would cover 1,500 kilometers, or 930 miles, and connect Port Harcourt, on Nigeria's west coast, to Maiduguri, in the east, the ministry added.
South Korea, which imports all of its oil, was promised an advantage in buying an unspecified stake in Nigerian oil fields. Posco Engineering & Construction and Korea National Oil formed a consortium to carry out the South Korean side of the deal. Construction may begin as early as in the first half of 2007 after the two countries sort out details, including the size of the oil blocks for South Korea and the terms for commercial loans for Nigeria.
The South Korean government said of the deal, "This is a win-win project where South Korea's technology and Nigeria's resources are swapped."
A spokesman said: "President Roh asked the Nigerian government to help South Korean firms participating in Nigeria's petroleum and gas field development. President Obasanjo asked our government to urge South Korean companies to participate in Nigerian projects to build hydroelectric dams, railroads and other infrastructure"
Roh visited Nigeria in March seeking a share in Nigeria's oil and natural gas development. Obasanjo plans to attend the opening of the first Korea-Africa Forum in Seoul on Tuesday. Among other African leaders expected to attend are Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of the Congo Republic; Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, president of Tanzania; John Agyekum Kufuor, president of Ghana; and Thomas Boni Yayi, president of Benin.
The forum takes place as South Korea seeks closer cooperation with African countries for their natural resources and potential markets for South Korean goods. South Korea started exploring oil reserves in Benin in 2004. In March, Korea National Oil won the exploration rights for two offshore blocks in Nigeria.
Nigeria sold 16 oil licenses in May in return for promises by mostly Asian investors, largely Chinese and Indian companies, of $20 billion of investment in refining, power and other projects. Nigeria is to hold bidding for 60 blocks that will be the last by Obasanjo's government before he steps down next year.
China to double African aid
04/11/2006 11:06 - (SA)
President Hu Jintao welcomes Benin President Yayi Boni to the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation at the Great Hall of the People. (Elizabeth Dalziel, AP)
Africa, China summit kicks off
Beijing - China would offer $5bn in loans and credits and double aid to Africa by 2009, said President Hu Jintao on Saturday, seeking to bolster his country's influence on the resource-rich continent.
Hu greeted visiting delegates from nearly 50 African nations one-by-one at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
"Our meeting today will go down in history," Hu told the leaders. "China is the largest developing country, and Africa is home to the largest number of developing countries."
The weekend summit, which follows a dialogue and trade forum, underscores China's deepening ties with African countries.
But rights groups have expressed concerns about Chinese links to countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan.
But Hu said: "The combined population of China and Africa accounts for over a third of the world total. Without peace and development in China and Africa, there will be no global peace and development."
China to help fight malaria
Outlining aid plans, Hu said China would provide $3bn in preferential loans and $2bn in preferential buyer's credits to African countries.
China would also double its 2006 assistance to Africa by 2009 in an effort to forge a new strategic partnership and strengthen co-operation.
Hu also pledged China would train 15 000 African professionals, send 100 agricultural experts to Africa, set up 10 agricultural technology centres over the next three years, build 30 hospitals, provide 300 million yuan (about R250m) in grants to help fight malaria, and build 100 rural schools.
He also increased the number of Chinese government scholarships to African students from 2 000 a year to 4 000 a year by 2009.
Rights groups say China's policy of non-interference in domestic affairs means its engagement with Africa is bolstering governments in places like Sudan and Zimbabwe, with whom Western countries have curbed trade ties.
China, Liberia sigh oil deal
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao dismissed accusations of a new form of colonialism in Africa.
"No African governments or people accuse China of practising neo-colonialism on the continent," he told a news conference. "The people who once suffered under colonialism in China and Africa know best what is colonialism."
China's trade with Africa is expected to top $50bn this year. While the summit is largely about handshakes and banquets, analysts also expect it to be an opportunity to cement trade and investment deals in the pipeline.
China and Liberia have signed a preliminary deal to allow China's second-largest state oil and gas firm, Sinopec Group, to explore for oil and gas.
Ghana is close to clinching a $600m deal with China's Sino Hydro Corporation to build a 400 megawatt hydroelectric dam in the north.
A Chinese consortium recently signed a $3bn iron ore deal in Gabon, which includes extending a railway and building a bulk commodities and container port.
CNPC studies best route to ship African oil home
Friday, November 03, 2006
China's thirst for foreign crude is driving its biggest oil company to examine several pipeline projects in northern and western Africa, said the chief executive of China National Petroleum Corp's exploration partner in Niger.
A strategy of offering soft loans and aid to poor nations has enabled China to muscle past Western rivals in the race for some of Africa's energy assets, but it has yet to work out the best way to move some of its equity oil back home.
To get its African oil on to tankers for the long haul to eastern Asia, China is considering which of three different pipeline projects to go ahead with.
One could link Sudan with Chad and Niger, another might go north through to Algeria's Mediterranean ports or a third option could be a link between Niger and Nigeria, as part of a Niger- Nigeria oil swap deal, according to Clifford James of Canada's TG World Energy.
The issue is pressing as China's oil imports are rising each year and domestic production cannot keep up.
Its oil imports hit a record high for any month of 3.29 million barrels per day in September.
At the same time, CNPC has kicked off drilling programs in Mauritania and Niger in recent weeks as it seeks to build on oil strikes in Chad and Sudan.
TG World is the junior partner of the CNPC-led Tenere concession in Niger with a 20 percent interest. It estimates there could be as many as 500 million barrels of crude beneath the sands there.
James was speaking as dozens of African leaders and delegations arrived in Beijing for a three-day summit to cement diplomatic and trade ties.
China's aggressive expansion in Africa has worried Western countries, which rely on light grades of crude for their refineries similar to oil produced in many parts of Africa where the Chinese have interests.
Also, independent oil companies that must answer to shareholders feel they struggle to compete with government-to-government deals favored by the Chinese.
Plans by CNPC to examine investments that bypass Western-built oil infrastructure are likely to exacerbate those concerns, although the Chinese have defended their actions in Africa as improving local living standards and opening up oil reserves that would otherwise have remained hidden for some time to come.
A typical tactic adopted by the Chinese is to plow money into non-oil infrastructure such as mobile phone networks or roads and later secure preferential treatment in auctions of oil blocks, often by getting the right of first refusal to match the top bid tabled by their competitors.
"One can look at it from a Machiavellian standpoint and say there's some method in their madness in the sense that what they are trying to do is get some leverage on those countries," James said.
"They do that by loaning money so that they can get into a position to use that leverage to get into some of the energy deals. That's quite different from the Western way."
US giant Exxon Mobil leads a consortium that invested US$3.5 billion (HK$27.3 billion) in a 225,000 bpd- pipeline and export facilities from Chad to Cameroon which would be most affected by competing installations built by the Chinese.
Exxon Mobil was embroiled in a row with the government of Chad this summer over unpaid taxes that saw it ordered to leave the country at one stage. This took place just three weeks after China and Chad established diplomatic relations.
One alternative to a Sudan-West Africa pipeline, James said, was CNPC looking at a crude-swap deal that would see oil pumped in Niger transported by a pipeline that it wants to build to a remote refinery in the northern part of neighboring Nigeria.
In May, CNPC agreed to invest US$2 billion in the Kaduna refinery in Nigeria after winning four blocks in a mini-bid round.
The 110,000-bpd facility has suffered fire damage and the Chinese side has not only pledged to refurbish it, but make it bigger as well, James said.
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
China Poised to Overtake World Bank as Biggest Lender in Africa
By Christopher Swann and William McQuillen
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- China is poised to become the biggest lender to African nations, threatening to undermine efforts by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to use overseas aid as an incentive to clean up corruption on the continent.
China has committed $8.1 billion this year to Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique, according to World Bank figures. That compares with $2.3 billion pledged to sub-Saharan Africa by the Washington-based World Bank. China may announce more deals at a Sino-African forum starting today in Beijing, cementing its place as the top official source of finance to Africa, development experts say.
China is bucking the global aid establishment by refusing to impose conditions in return for financing projects that include airports, government buildings and power plants. That allows African governments to borrow overseas while avoiding strictures imposed by the World Bank, such as accounting safeguards and measures to protect workers and the environment.
``There is a risk that some governments in Africa may use Chinese money in the wrong way to avoid pressure from the West for good government,'' said Papa Kwesi Nduom, who heads the Ministry of Public Sector Reform in Ghana, which is seeking a $1.2 billion loan from China for a hydro-electric dam and rural electrification.
China has a more commercial agenda than the World Bank, the U.S. and France, the top Western donors, and terms of some of its loans are less favorable. The U.S. provided a net $3.5 billion in loans and grants to sub-Saharan Africa in 2004, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. France extended $3 billion.
Eximbank, China's overseas lending arm, has provided about $12.5 billion in infrastructure loans to Africa since 1994, a figure that excludes mining and oil projects, according to the World Bank.
Access to Resources
China is using loans, export credits and other sources of financing to secure access to resources it needs to fuel its economy, the world's fourth largest and among the fastest growing. China is the world's biggest consumer of zinc, nickel and copper, the second-largest user of crude oil and the top importer of tropical woods.
``The Chinese deals are very opaque but seem often to be long-term mortgages on Africa's resources or mineral deposits,'' says Dan Large, a China specialist at the Rift Valley Institute, a Nairobi-based think-tank that's financed in part by Unicef.
Angola, a nation of 14 million that's recovering from a 27- year civil war, is avoiding pressure to clean up corruption thanks to aid from China, Large says.
Money Disappears
The former Portuguese colony is ranked 151 of 158 countries on Transparency International's corruption index. Global Witness, a London-based human rights group, reckons that $8.5 billion of Angolan public money disappeared between 1997 and 2001.
In 2004, Angola received a $2 billion line of credit from China backed by oil revenue, an amount that was increased by $1 billion this year.
Laurinda Santos, press secretary at the Angolan embassy in Washington, didn't respond to requests for comment. The press office at the Chinese embassy in Washington didn't return telephone calls.
Nigeria, the continent's top oil producer, this year agreed to provide a drilling license to China in exchange for a $4 billion commitment to improve infrastructure. China this year also agreed to lend $2.6 billion to Mozambique to build a dam, a hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines.
Debt Crisis
Such loans raise the prospect of a renewed debt crisis in Africa, just a year after the world's rich nations agreed to forgive as much as $57 billion of debt, Wolfowitz told Chinese news agency Xinhua last week.
``Africans cannot afford to miss the growth opportunities offered by new sources of lending and investment,'' Harry Broadman, an economic adviser in the World Bank's Africa Department, said in a statement yesterday.
China and other new lenders ``will undoubtedly want to learn about the overall debt situation and coordinate with other sources of development finance to avoid some of the mistakes and problems that Western lending and aid has generated in the past.''
Wolfowitz has made his good-government drive a hallmark of his 16-month tenure at the World Bank, arguing that too much of the money intended for schools and clinics winds up in the pockets of corrupt politicians.
One result of his efforts: Chad in July agreed to set aside set aside 70 percent of its oil revenue for anti-poverty programs after the World Bank suspended $124 million in loans to the central African nation of 9 million.
Fight Against Poverty
``The effort to strengthen and improve governance is a key element in the fight against poverty,'' Wolfowitz, 62, said in a speech on Sept. 18.
Some African nations bristle at the World Bank campaign, calling it interference in domestic matters.
``The fact that a country gives you aid makes them think they have a license to tell you how to run your affairs,'' Robert Kabushenga, a spokesman for Uganda's government, said in an interview from Kampala. ``These conditions are probably well intentioned, but they are humiliating.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Swann in Washington at cswann1@bloomberg.net ; William McQuillen in Washington at bmcquillen@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 2, 2006 16:18 EST
Shell USA President visited China recently
Sinopec executives sign agreement for closer ties with Houston
5:02 AM ET Nov 1, 2006
HOUSTON (MarketWatch) -- Top China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (SNP) officials signed a cooperation agreement with Houston Mayor Bill White, vowing to strengthen ties between one of Asia's largest energy companies and the world's oil and gas capital.
"We're very willing to become closer or extend our relationship with the international oil and petrochemical companies," Vice President Zhou Yuan said during the signing ceremony at the Houston City Hall.
The company - also known as Sinopec - already trains many of its engineers in the Houston area, but as the center of the global oil and gas industry, the city could offer more, said Helen Chang, director of the Houston's International Affairs and Development office.
"We want them to set up an office in Houston," Chang said. The city also wants Sinopec to help sponsor an alternative energy conference next year.
White and several Houston business leaders - including Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSB.LN) U.S. unit president John Hoffmeister - visited China for 10 days in July, hoping to boost Houston's economic and cultural standing in one of the world's fastest growing economies.
Sinopec is Asia's largest refiner, and one of China's largest producers of oil and natural gas.
-Contact: 201-938-5400
How China bought up Africa
31 October 2006 19:15 Home > News > World > Asia
Roar of the Asian tiger: How China bought up Africa
More than 40 African nations will be represented at a summit in Beijing this week, a very public indication of the huge investment one of the world's fastest-growing economies has made in the world's poorest continent. Clifford Coonan reports
Published: 01 November 2006
The Sphinx, a herd of elephants and the lions of the Serengeti look down from billboards overhung with construction cranes on to Beijing's ring roads, teeming with cars, cement mixers and other symbols of a booming economy. Sharp-suited African politicians discuss oil, timber and precious metals with equally well-tailored Chinese officials in the lobbies of Beijing's top hotels.
More than 40 African heads of state are in Beijing for this weekend's China-Africa forum to discuss the growing importance of trade between the world's fastest-growing economy and the world's poorest continent. China's trade with Africa is set to exceed £27bn this year and the intense discussions bear out the fact that this is a congress of real import.
The Sino-African summit is the biggest international gathering Beijing has hosted for many years. All told, 48 African countries will send delegations, most of them top leaders, for the ministerial summit which starts on Friday.
The forum marks an astonishing publicity coup for China, and is proof that in this modern-day "scramble for Africa" China is streets ahead when it comes to winning influence in the mineral-rich but often politically unstable continent.
"China is opening itself up to Africa, coming with assistance. We have nothing to lose but our imperialist chains," said Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is attending the summit.
The Chinese have cleverly taken advantage of the fact that Africa has not been a diplomatic priority for leaders in Washington or the capitals of Europe for many years now. Beijing has actively wooed African nations to boost its diplomatic muscle on the continent, win contracts for Chinese companies and help to meet its ever-growing energy needs.
Traditionally these meetings are "cultural" events, marked by people wearing traditional dress sitting around banqueting tables discussing poetry in regional dialect. But this summit has an edge as sharp as the delegates' suits.
Africa is rich in oil and other natural resources, while China is the world's second-biggest consumer of oil and petrol after the United States. Its factories need iron ore and copper to keep churning out the industrial goods fuelling the country's economic boom, and China has been unstinting in its efforts to maintain good relations, investing £3bn in Africa this year alone.
The giant billboards welcoming the African delegates are written in English, French and Chinese. One sign seems to feature a tribesman from Papua New Guinea, but let's not quibble about details. Beggars have been taken off the streets, the airport touts offering overpriced taxis are gone, and the schools are being let out early to keep traffic moving. Police leave has been cancelled, and commuters are being told to take the bus instead of driving. Beijing city authorities view the congress as a dry run for hosting the 2008 Olympics.
In many ways, the congress marks the culmination of China's 21st-century quest for influence in Africa, which is reminiscent of the undignified scramble in the 19th century when leading European colonial nations fought for their places on the continent. The current scramble is one in which China has played a strong diplomatic hand, backed by its growing economic clout and its increased political flexibility.
China has been busy in recent years wooing African nations to boost its influence on the continent. But Beijing has been criticised for ignoring human rights and environmental standards and failing to attach demands for transparency and accountability to offers of aid, loans and investment to Africa.
Chairman Mao Zedong always dreamt of China leading a Third World alliance of non-aligned nations in a crusade against the capitalist running dogs. But where the poverty of Maoism failed to deliver that sought-after role, socialism with Chinese characteristics, which translates as Chinese capitalism, may yet deliver this alliance.
Back during the Cold War, when everything was simpler, China and Soviet Russia fought for influence among African states. China has steadily built up its influence in Africa since the 1960s and 1970s when it offered its support to newly independent African states, especially Communist ones, and backed independence movements. Beijing has always operated a "no strings attached" policy of economic aid, unlike Western donors, which demand that African countries pledge to fight corruption and improve human rights.
Its enthusiasm for building economic ties with some of the worst human rights offenders in Africa, such as Sudan, has earned it widespread international criticism. However, increasingly reliant on Africa's resources, China defends its economic links with governments accused of civil rights abuses.
"Chinese investment has promoted economic growth in African countries, increased job opportunities, brought technical applications to African countries and improved living standards for African people," the deputy commerce minister, Wei Jianguo, has said.
China has diplomatic relations with 49 African nations, and in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005 trade between China and Africa has multiplied tenfold, from £2bn to nearly £20bn.
With oil from Nigeria, Angola and Sudan, iron ore and platinum from South Africa, timber from Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon, China's shopping list in Africa is a long one.
This week's meeting will focus on trade and economic development rather than more contentious issues such as arms sales to Angola.
"China is the biggest developing country and Africa is a continent where the most developing countries are situated," said He Wenping, an Africa expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They need each other."
China has been generous with its aid. Last year the country lent Angola £1bn to repair infrastructure wrecked during the civil war. The following month, China gave Kenya more than £20m in aid to modernise its state-run utilities.
Africa's trade with China accounts for some 10 per cent of its total trade, but the figure is growing as trade with the European Union decreases.
The human rights group Amnesty International says China's secret arms exports to Sudan are fuelling human rights violations and helping to sustain conflict there.
The World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, has accused China and its banks of ignoring human rights and environmental standards when lending to developing countries in Africa. He was referring to the Equator Principles, which have been adopted by Western banks in an attempt to ensure lending is ethical, sustainable and in accord with environmental and human rights principles, but which Mr Wolfowitz believes may be disregarded by Chinese banks.
Mr Wei said he had not heard of cases of Chinese firms destroying the environment in Africa, but promised tough action if they do. "We will mete out severe punishment ... and revoke their licence to operate anywhere outside China," he said. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the responsibility of Chinese enterprises when they operate in Africa. When approving possible projects, we would not agree to those projects which have the potential to have these effects on the environment."
Popular resentment in Africa has been building, with some countries complaining about the flood of cheap manufactured goods from China, which they say is damaging local industry. There has also been unrest over labour standards at Chinese-invested companies. Zambia has been an ally for many years, but China became an issue in the September presidential election, when the opposition candidate questioned the benefit from Chinese investment, prompting a miffed reaction from Beijing. In July, scores of African workers at a Chinese-owned Zambian mine rioted over low wages.
Analysts say that a combination of China's hunger for raw materials and its manufacturing strength could choke efforts by African nations to diversify from being commodity exporters. Chinese clothing and textiles, plastics and electronics are flooding the markets in Africa and local companies have little chance of competing.
Angola overtook Saudi Arabia this year to become China's largest supplier of crude oil, and the Chinese state energy company Sinopec has offered big bonuses for oil exploration and production contracts in Africa.
On a tour of Egypt, Ghana, Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda earlier this year, the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, offered Luanda a £1bn credit line.
China has also come under fire for investing in oil-rich Sudan, whose President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was expected to attend the summit. The assistant foreign minister, Zhai Jun, said Mr Bashir and Chinese leaders would discuss the situation in Darfur, where three years of fighting has killed more than 200,000 and forced 2.5 million from their homes. "We believe the humanitarian situation should be improved and we support an active role for the UN in this," Mr Zhai said.
However, he also intoned the long-held Chinese mantra that human rights issues were a domestic problem and not for foreign governments to meddle in. "It is never our view that a country should interfere in another country's internal affairs and human rights," he said.
Many African nations like the Chinese model of single-party rule with a firm grip on key industries and companies.
This summit is all about showcasing Beijing, which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years as it gears up for the Olympics. The world's leading architects have been brought in to help bring about a metamorphosis. Whole swaths of the city have been demolished, with ancient courtyard houses replaced by shiny glass skyscrapers and huge dual carriageways criss-crossing the medieval city.
It is not just about oil and aid. A conference for 1,500 entrepreneurs from both sides will be held on the sidelines, which will examine co-operation on agriculture, water projects, construction, energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. There will also be an African product exhibition.
China also invited rival Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Africa - Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, and São Tomé and Principe - to attend, although it is not clear whether they have taken up the offer or not.
China has also said it wants to strengthen its ties with Africa by promoting high-level military exchanges between the two sides.
Beijing's Communist Party Secretary, Liu Qi, has called for "all-out efforts to create a seriously friendly atmosphere for Sino-African relations". The grass around the airport and the conference venues is being painted green. But don't make the mistake of thinking this summit is just for show.
The Sphinx, a herd of elephants and the lions of the Serengeti look down from billboards overhung with construction cranes on to Beijing's ring roads, teeming with cars, cement mixers and other symbols of a booming economy. Sharp-suited African politicians discuss oil, timber and precious metals with equally well-tailored Chinese officials in the lobbies of Beijing's top hotels.
More than 40 African heads of state are in Beijing for this weekend's China-Africa forum to discuss the growing importance of trade between the world's fastest-growing economy and the world's poorest continent. China's trade with Africa is set to exceed £27bn this year and the intense discussions bear out the fact that this is a congress of real import.
The Sino-African summit is the biggest international gathering Beijing has hosted for many years. All told, 48 African countries will send delegations, most of them top leaders, for the ministerial summit which starts on Friday.
The forum marks an astonishing publicity coup for China, and is proof that in this modern-day "scramble for Africa" China is streets ahead when it comes to winning influence in the mineral-rich but often politically unstable continent.
"China is opening itself up to Africa, coming with assistance. We have nothing to lose but our imperialist chains," said Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is attending the summit.
The Chinese have cleverly taken advantage of the fact that Africa has not been a diplomatic priority for leaders in Washington or the capitals of Europe for many years now. Beijing has actively wooed African nations to boost its diplomatic muscle on the continent, win contracts for Chinese companies and help to meet its ever-growing energy needs.
Traditionally these meetings are "cultural" events, marked by people wearing traditional dress sitting around banqueting tables discussing poetry in regional dialect. But this summit has an edge as sharp as the delegates' suits.
Africa is rich in oil and other natural resources, while China is the world's second-biggest consumer of oil and petrol after the United States. Its factories need iron ore and copper to keep churning out the industrial goods fuelling the country's economic boom, and China has been unstinting in its efforts to maintain good relations, investing £3bn in Africa this year alone.
The giant billboards welcoming the African delegates are written in English, French and Chinese. One sign seems to feature a tribesman from Papua New Guinea, but let's not quibble about details. Beggars have been taken off the streets, the airport touts offering overpriced taxis are gone, and the schools are being let out early to keep traffic moving. Police leave has been cancelled, and commuters are being told to take the bus instead of driving. Beijing city authorities view the congress as a dry run for hosting the 2008 Olympics.
In many ways, the congress marks the culmination of China's 21st-century quest for influence in Africa, which is reminiscent of the undignified scramble in the 19th century when leading European colonial nations fought for their places on the continent. The current scramble is one in which China has played a strong diplomatic hand, backed by its growing economic clout and its increased political flexibility.
China has been busy in recent years wooing African nations to boost its influence on the continent. But Beijing has been criticised for ignoring human rights and environmental standards and failing to attach demands for transparency and accountability to offers of aid, loans and investment to Africa.
Chairman Mao Zedong always dreamt of China leading a Third World alliance of non-aligned nations in a crusade against the capitalist running dogs. But where the poverty of Maoism failed to deliver that sought-after role, socialism with Chinese characteristics, which translates as Chinese capitalism, may yet deliver this alliance.
Back during the Cold War, when everything was simpler, China and Soviet Russia fought for influence among African states. China has steadily built up its influence in Africa since the 1960s and 1970s when it offered its support to newly independent African states, especially Communist ones, and backed independence movements. Beijing has always operated a "no strings attached" policy of economic aid, unlike Western donors, which demand that African countries pledge to fight corruption and improve human rights.
Its enthusiasm for building economic ties with some of the worst human rights offenders in Africa, such as Sudan, has earned it widespread international criticism. However, increasingly reliant on Africa's resources, China defends its economic links with governments accused of civil rights abuses.
"Chinese investment has promoted economic growth in African countries, increased job opportunities, brought technical applications to African countries and improved living standards for African people," the deputy commerce minister, Wei Jianguo, has said.
China has diplomatic relations with 49 African nations, and in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005 trade between China and Africa has multiplied tenfold, from £2bn to nearly £20bn.
With oil from Nigeria, Angola and Sudan, iron ore and platinum from South Africa, timber from Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon, China's shopping list in Africa is a long one.
This week's meeting will focus on trade and economic development rather than more contentious issues such as arms sales to Angola.
"China is the biggest developing country and Africa is a continent where the most developing countries are situated," said He Wenping, an Africa expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They need each other."
China has been generous with its aid. Last year the country lent Angola £1bn to repair infrastructure wrecked during the civil war. The following month, China gave Kenya more than £20m in aid to modernise its state-run utilities.
Africa's trade with China accounts for some 10 per cent of its total trade, but the figure is growing as trade with the European Union decreases.
The human rights group Amnesty International says China's secret arms exports to Sudan are fuelling human rights violations and helping to sustain conflict there.
The World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, has accused China and its banks of ignoring human rights and environmental standards when lending to developing countries in Africa. He was referring to the Equator Principles, which have been adopted by Western banks in an attempt to ensure lending is ethical, sustainable and in accord with environmental and human rights principles, but which Mr Wolfowitz believes may be disregarded by Chinese banks.
Mr Wei said he had not heard of cases of Chinese firms destroying the environment in Africa, but promised tough action if they do. "We will mete out severe punishment ... and revoke their licence to operate anywhere outside China," he said. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the responsibility of Chinese enterprises when they operate in Africa. When approving possible projects, we would not agree to those projects which have the potential to have these effects on the environment."
Popular resentment in Africa has been building, with some countries complaining about the flood of cheap manufactured goods from China, which they say is damaging local industry. There has also been unrest over labour standards at Chinese-invested companies. Zambia has been an ally for many years, but China became an issue in the September presidential election, when the opposition candidate questioned the benefit from Chinese investment, prompting a miffed reaction from Beijing. In July, scores of African workers at a Chinese-owned Zambian mine rioted over low wages.
Analysts say that a combination of China's hunger for raw materials and its manufacturing strength could choke efforts by African nations to diversify from being commodity exporters. Chinese clothing and textiles, plastics and electronics are flooding the markets in Africa and local companies have little chance of competing.
Angola overtook Saudi Arabia this year to become China's largest supplier of crude oil, and the Chinese state energy company Sinopec has offered big bonuses for oil exploration and production contracts in Africa.
On a tour of Egypt, Ghana, Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda earlier this year, the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, offered Luanda a £1bn credit line.
China has also come under fire for investing in oil-rich Sudan, whose President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was expected to attend the summit. The assistant foreign minister, Zhai Jun, said Mr Bashir and Chinese leaders would discuss the situation in Darfur, where three years of fighting has killed more than 200,000 and forced 2.5 million from their homes. "We believe the humanitarian situation should be improved and we support an active role for the UN in this," Mr Zhai said.
However, he also intoned the long-held Chinese mantra that human rights issues were a domestic problem and not for foreign governments to meddle in. "It is never our view that a country should interfere in another country's internal affairs and human rights," he said.
Many African nations like the Chinese model of single-party rule with a firm grip on key industries and companies.
This summit is all about showcasing Beijing, which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years as it gears up for the Olympics. The world's leading architects have been brought in to help bring about a metamorphosis. Whole swaths of the city have been demolished, with ancient courtyard houses replaced by shiny glass skyscrapers and huge dual carriageways criss-crossing the medieval city.
It is not just about oil and aid. A conference for 1,500 entrepreneurs from both sides will be held on the sidelines, which will examine co-operation on agriculture, water projects, construction, energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. There will also be an African product exhibition.
China also invited rival Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Africa - Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, and São Tomé and Principe - to attend, although it is not clear whether they have taken up the offer or not.
China has also said it wants to strengthen its ties with Africa by promoting high-level military exchanges between the two sides.
Beijing's Communist Party Secretary, Liu Qi, has called for "all-out efforts to create a seriously friendly atmosphere for Sino-African relations". The grass around the airport and the conference venues is being painted green. But don't make the mistake of thinking this summit is just for show.
How China bought up Africa
31 October 2006 19:15 Home > News > World > Asia
Roar of the Asian tiger: How China bought up Africa
More than 40 African nations will be represented at a summit in Beijing this week, a very public indication of the huge investment one of the world's fastest-growing economies has made in the world's poorest continent. Clifford Coonan reports
Published: 01 November 2006
The Sphinx, a herd of elephants and the lions of the Serengeti look down from billboards overhung with construction cranes on to Beijing's ring roads, teeming with cars, cement mixers and other symbols of a booming economy. Sharp-suited African politicians discuss oil, timber and precious metals with equally well-tailored Chinese officials in the lobbies of Beijing's top hotels.
More than 40 African heads of state are in Beijing for this weekend's China-Africa forum to discuss the growing importance of trade between the world's fastest-growing economy and the world's poorest continent. China's trade with Africa is set to exceed £27bn this year and the intense discussions bear out the fact that this is a congress of real import.
The Sino-African summit is the biggest international gathering Beijing has hosted for many years. All told, 48 African countries will send delegations, most of them top leaders, for the ministerial summit which starts on Friday.
The forum marks an astonishing publicity coup for China, and is proof that in this modern-day "scramble for Africa" China is streets ahead when it comes to winning influence in the mineral-rich but often politically unstable continent.
"China is opening itself up to Africa, coming with assistance. We have nothing to lose but our imperialist chains," said Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is attending the summit.
The Chinese have cleverly taken advantage of the fact that Africa has not been a diplomatic priority for leaders in Washington or the capitals of Europe for many years now. Beijing has actively wooed African nations to boost its diplomatic muscle on the continent, win contracts for Chinese companies and help to meet its ever-growing energy needs.
Traditionally these meetings are "cultural" events, marked by people wearing traditional dress sitting around banqueting tables discussing poetry in regional dialect. But this summit has an edge as sharp as the delegates' suits.
Africa is rich in oil and other natural resources, while China is the world's second-biggest consumer of oil and petrol after the United States. Its factories need iron ore and copper to keep churning out the industrial goods fuelling the country's economic boom, and China has been unstinting in its efforts to maintain good relations, investing £3bn in Africa this year alone.
The giant billboards welcoming the African delegates are written in English, French and Chinese. One sign seems to feature a tribesman from Papua New Guinea, but let's not quibble about details. Beggars have been taken off the streets, the airport touts offering overpriced taxis are gone, and the schools are being let out early to keep traffic moving. Police leave has been cancelled, and commuters are being told to take the bus instead of driving. Beijing city authorities view the congress as a dry run for hosting the 2008 Olympics.
In many ways, the congress marks the culmination of China's 21st-century quest for influence in Africa, which is reminiscent of the undignified scramble in the 19th century when leading European colonial nations fought for their places on the continent. The current scramble is one in which China has played a strong diplomatic hand, backed by its growing economic clout and its increased political flexibility.
China has been busy in recent years wooing African nations to boost its influence on the continent. But Beijing has been criticised for ignoring human rights and environmental standards and failing to attach demands for transparency and accountability to offers of aid, loans and investment to Africa.
Chairman Mao Zedong always dreamt of China leading a Third World alliance of non-aligned nations in a crusade against the capitalist running dogs. But where the poverty of Maoism failed to deliver that sought-after role, socialism with Chinese characteristics, which translates as Chinese capitalism, may yet deliver this alliance.
Back during the Cold War, when everything was simpler, China and Soviet Russia fought for influence among African states. China has steadily built up its influence in Africa since the 1960s and 1970s when it offered its support to newly independent African states, especially Communist ones, and backed independence movements. Beijing has always operated a "no strings attached" policy of economic aid, unlike Western donors, which demand that African countries pledge to fight corruption and improve human rights.
Its enthusiasm for building economic ties with some of the worst human rights offenders in Africa, such as Sudan, has earned it widespread international criticism. However, increasingly reliant on Africa's resources, China defends its economic links with governments accused of civil rights abuses.
"Chinese investment has promoted economic growth in African countries, increased job opportunities, brought technical applications to African countries and improved living standards for African people," the deputy commerce minister, Wei Jianguo, has said.
China has diplomatic relations with 49 African nations, and in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005 trade between China and Africa has multiplied tenfold, from £2bn to nearly £20bn.
With oil from Nigeria, Angola and Sudan, iron ore and platinum from South Africa, timber from Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon, China's shopping list in Africa is a long one.
This week's meeting will focus on trade and economic development rather than more contentious issues such as arms sales to Angola.
"China is the biggest developing country and Africa is a continent where the most developing countries are situated," said He Wenping, an Africa expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They need each other."
China has been generous with its aid. Last year the country lent Angola £1bn to repair infrastructure wrecked during the civil war. The following month, China gave Kenya more than £20m in aid to modernise its state-run utilities.
Africa's trade with China accounts for some 10 per cent of its total trade, but the figure is growing as trade with the European Union decreases.
The human rights group Amnesty International says China's secret arms exports to Sudan are fuelling human rights violations and helping to sustain conflict there.
The World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, has accused China and its banks of ignoring human rights and environmental standards when lending to developing countries in Africa. He was referring to the Equator Principles, which have been adopted by Western banks in an attempt to ensure lending is ethical, sustainable and in accord with environmental and human rights principles, but which Mr Wolfowitz believes may be disregarded by Chinese banks.
Mr Wei said he had not heard of cases of Chinese firms destroying the environment in Africa, but promised tough action if they do. "We will mete out severe punishment ... and revoke their licence to operate anywhere outside China," he said. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the responsibility of Chinese enterprises when they operate in Africa. When approving possible projects, we would not agree to those projects which have the potential to have these effects on the environment."
Popular resentment in Africa has been building, with some countries complaining about the flood of cheap manufactured goods from China, which they say is damaging local industry. There has also been unrest over labour standards at Chinese-invested companies. Zambia has been an ally for many years, but China became an issue in the September presidential election, when the opposition candidate questioned the benefit from Chinese investment, prompting a miffed reaction from Beijing. In July, scores of African workers at a Chinese-owned Zambian mine rioted over low wages.
Analysts say that a combination of China's hunger for raw materials and its manufacturing strength could choke efforts by African nations to diversify from being commodity exporters. Chinese clothing and textiles, plastics and electronics are flooding the markets in Africa and local companies have little chance of competing.
Angola overtook Saudi Arabia this year to become China's largest supplier of crude oil, and the Chinese state energy company Sinopec has offered big bonuses for oil exploration and production contracts in Africa.
On a tour of Egypt, Ghana, Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda earlier this year, the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, offered Luanda a £1bn credit line.
China has also come under fire for investing in oil-rich Sudan, whose President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was expected to attend the summit. The assistant foreign minister, Zhai Jun, said Mr Bashir and Chinese leaders would discuss the situation in Darfur, where three years of fighting has killed more than 200,000 and forced 2.5 million from their homes. "We believe the humanitarian situation should be improved and we support an active role for the UN in this," Mr Zhai said.
However, he also intoned the long-held Chinese mantra that human rights issues were a domestic problem and not for foreign governments to meddle in. "It is never our view that a country should interfere in another country's internal affairs and human rights," he said.
Many African nations like the Chinese model of single-party rule with a firm grip on key industries and companies.
This summit is all about showcasing Beijing, which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years as it gears up for the Olympics. The world's leading architects have been brought in to help bring about a metamorphosis. Whole swaths of the city have been demolished, with ancient courtyard houses replaced by shiny glass skyscrapers and huge dual carriageways criss-crossing the medieval city.
It is not just about oil and aid. A conference for 1,500 entrepreneurs from both sides will be held on the sidelines, which will examine co-operation on agriculture, water projects, construction, energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. There will also be an African product exhibition.
China also invited rival Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Africa - Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, and São Tomé and Principe - to attend, although it is not clear whether they have taken up the offer or not.
China has also said it wants to strengthen its ties with Africa by promoting high-level military exchanges between the two sides.
Beijing's Communist Party Secretary, Liu Qi, has called for "all-out efforts to create a seriously friendly atmosphere for Sino-African relations". The grass around the airport and the conference venues is being painted green. But don't make the mistake of thinking this summit is just for show.
The Sphinx, a herd of elephants and the lions of the Serengeti look down from billboards overhung with construction cranes on to Beijing's ring roads, teeming with cars, cement mixers and other symbols of a booming economy. Sharp-suited African politicians discuss oil, timber and precious metals with equally well-tailored Chinese officials in the lobbies of Beijing's top hotels.
More than 40 African heads of state are in Beijing for this weekend's China-Africa forum to discuss the growing importance of trade between the world's fastest-growing economy and the world's poorest continent. China's trade with Africa is set to exceed £27bn this year and the intense discussions bear out the fact that this is a congress of real import.
The Sino-African summit is the biggest international gathering Beijing has hosted for many years. All told, 48 African countries will send delegations, most of them top leaders, for the ministerial summit which starts on Friday.
The forum marks an astonishing publicity coup for China, and is proof that in this modern-day "scramble for Africa" China is streets ahead when it comes to winning influence in the mineral-rich but often politically unstable continent.
"China is opening itself up to Africa, coming with assistance. We have nothing to lose but our imperialist chains," said Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is attending the summit.
The Chinese have cleverly taken advantage of the fact that Africa has not been a diplomatic priority for leaders in Washington or the capitals of Europe for many years now. Beijing has actively wooed African nations to boost its diplomatic muscle on the continent, win contracts for Chinese companies and help to meet its ever-growing energy needs.
Traditionally these meetings are "cultural" events, marked by people wearing traditional dress sitting around banqueting tables discussing poetry in regional dialect. But this summit has an edge as sharp as the delegates' suits.
Africa is rich in oil and other natural resources, while China is the world's second-biggest consumer of oil and petrol after the United States. Its factories need iron ore and copper to keep churning out the industrial goods fuelling the country's economic boom, and China has been unstinting in its efforts to maintain good relations, investing £3bn in Africa this year alone.
The giant billboards welcoming the African delegates are written in English, French and Chinese. One sign seems to feature a tribesman from Papua New Guinea, but let's not quibble about details. Beggars have been taken off the streets, the airport touts offering overpriced taxis are gone, and the schools are being let out early to keep traffic moving. Police leave has been cancelled, and commuters are being told to take the bus instead of driving. Beijing city authorities view the congress as a dry run for hosting the 2008 Olympics.
In many ways, the congress marks the culmination of China's 21st-century quest for influence in Africa, which is reminiscent of the undignified scramble in the 19th century when leading European colonial nations fought for their places on the continent. The current scramble is one in which China has played a strong diplomatic hand, backed by its growing economic clout and its increased political flexibility.
China has been busy in recent years wooing African nations to boost its influence on the continent. But Beijing has been criticised for ignoring human rights and environmental standards and failing to attach demands for transparency and accountability to offers of aid, loans and investment to Africa.
Chairman Mao Zedong always dreamt of China leading a Third World alliance of non-aligned nations in a crusade against the capitalist running dogs. But where the poverty of Maoism failed to deliver that sought-after role, socialism with Chinese characteristics, which translates as Chinese capitalism, may yet deliver this alliance.
Back during the Cold War, when everything was simpler, China and Soviet Russia fought for influence among African states. China has steadily built up its influence in Africa since the 1960s and 1970s when it offered its support to newly independent African states, especially Communist ones, and backed independence movements. Beijing has always operated a "no strings attached" policy of economic aid, unlike Western donors, which demand that African countries pledge to fight corruption and improve human rights.
Its enthusiasm for building economic ties with some of the worst human rights offenders in Africa, such as Sudan, has earned it widespread international criticism. However, increasingly reliant on Africa's resources, China defends its economic links with governments accused of civil rights abuses.
"Chinese investment has promoted economic growth in African countries, increased job opportunities, brought technical applications to African countries and improved living standards for African people," the deputy commerce minister, Wei Jianguo, has said.
China has diplomatic relations with 49 African nations, and in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005 trade between China and Africa has multiplied tenfold, from £2bn to nearly £20bn.
With oil from Nigeria, Angola and Sudan, iron ore and platinum from South Africa, timber from Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon, China's shopping list in Africa is a long one.
This week's meeting will focus on trade and economic development rather than more contentious issues such as arms sales to Angola.
"China is the biggest developing country and Africa is a continent where the most developing countries are situated," said He Wenping, an Africa expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They need each other."
China has been generous with its aid. Last year the country lent Angola £1bn to repair infrastructure wrecked during the civil war. The following month, China gave Kenya more than £20m in aid to modernise its state-run utilities.
Africa's trade with China accounts for some 10 per cent of its total trade, but the figure is growing as trade with the European Union decreases.
The human rights group Amnesty International says China's secret arms exports to Sudan are fuelling human rights violations and helping to sustain conflict there.
The World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz, has accused China and its banks of ignoring human rights and environmental standards when lending to developing countries in Africa. He was referring to the Equator Principles, which have been adopted by Western banks in an attempt to ensure lending is ethical, sustainable and in accord with environmental and human rights principles, but which Mr Wolfowitz believes may be disregarded by Chinese banks.
Mr Wei said he had not heard of cases of Chinese firms destroying the environment in Africa, but promised tough action if they do. "We will mete out severe punishment ... and revoke their licence to operate anywhere outside China," he said. "The Chinese government attaches great importance to the responsibility of Chinese enterprises when they operate in Africa. When approving possible projects, we would not agree to those projects which have the potential to have these effects on the environment."
Popular resentment in Africa has been building, with some countries complaining about the flood of cheap manufactured goods from China, which they say is damaging local industry. There has also been unrest over labour standards at Chinese-invested companies. Zambia has been an ally for many years, but China became an issue in the September presidential election, when the opposition candidate questioned the benefit from Chinese investment, prompting a miffed reaction from Beijing. In July, scores of African workers at a Chinese-owned Zambian mine rioted over low wages.
Analysts say that a combination of China's hunger for raw materials and its manufacturing strength could choke efforts by African nations to diversify from being commodity exporters. Chinese clothing and textiles, plastics and electronics are flooding the markets in Africa and local companies have little chance of competing.
Angola overtook Saudi Arabia this year to become China's largest supplier of crude oil, and the Chinese state energy company Sinopec has offered big bonuses for oil exploration and production contracts in Africa.
On a tour of Egypt, Ghana, Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda earlier this year, the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, offered Luanda a £1bn credit line.
China has also come under fire for investing in oil-rich Sudan, whose President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was expected to attend the summit. The assistant foreign minister, Zhai Jun, said Mr Bashir and Chinese leaders would discuss the situation in Darfur, where three years of fighting has killed more than 200,000 and forced 2.5 million from their homes. "We believe the humanitarian situation should be improved and we support an active role for the UN in this," Mr Zhai said.
However, he also intoned the long-held Chinese mantra that human rights issues were a domestic problem and not for foreign governments to meddle in. "It is never our view that a country should interfere in another country's internal affairs and human rights," he said.
Many African nations like the Chinese model of single-party rule with a firm grip on key industries and companies.
This summit is all about showcasing Beijing, which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years as it gears up for the Olympics. The world's leading architects have been brought in to help bring about a metamorphosis. Whole swaths of the city have been demolished, with ancient courtyard houses replaced by shiny glass skyscrapers and huge dual carriageways criss-crossing the medieval city.
It is not just about oil and aid. A conference for 1,500 entrepreneurs from both sides will be held on the sidelines, which will examine co-operation on agriculture, water projects, construction, energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. There will also be an African product exhibition.
China also invited rival Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Africa - Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, and São Tomé and Principe - to attend, although it is not clear whether they have taken up the offer or not.
China has also said it wants to strengthen its ties with Africa by promoting high-level military exchanges between the two sides.
Beijing's Communist Party Secretary, Liu Qi, has called for "all-out efforts to create a seriously friendly atmosphere for Sino-African relations". The grass around the airport and the conference venues is being painted green. But don't make the mistake of thinking this summit is just for show.
Angola to explore São Tomé oil
afrol News, 31 October - It is now official that Angola will take part in oil exploration in the São Tomé and Príncipe's economic exclusive area after the two countries' companies signed a partnership agreement. This was announced by the Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, Tome Vera Cruz.
"We have signed a protocol for the oil sector and there is a memorandum between our national oil agency and Sonangol, but we want to go further so that by forming partnerships we can work together on oil exploration," 'Macauhub' quoted Mr Vera Cruz as saying.
This development came after Mr Vera Cruz had concluded a three-day official visit to Angola. He used the trip to boost bilateral cooperation with Angolan authorities.
He said soon technical teams in the oil sector from both countries would find ways of developing partnerships and bring them to fruition.
Prime Minister Vera Cruz added that his country has two pending debts with Angola, the recent being the result of good relationship between the two countries.
In relation to the other debt, which is older and bilateral, PM Vera Cruz said that he had discussed the issue with the Angolan authorities, "within the framework of the debt pardon to be negotiated with the Paris Club."
A commission involving members from both countries is scheduled to meet in December to analyse new forms of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, São Tomé and Príncipe invited investors from booming Angola to enter his country, which would expedite partnerships between the two countries in various fields. He made the appeal during a visit to Angola upon receiving invitation from his counterpart, President Fernando Dias dos Santos.
In his meeting with Angolan investors in Luanda, Prime Minister Vera Cruz called for greater dynamics among investors and pledged fiscal incentives on investments in his country.
Prime Minister Vera Cruz said there are several business opportunities in his country in addition to the oil sector, which propitiate a public-private partnership among people from both countries.
The government of São Tomé earlier has focused on getting fellow Portuguese speaking nations to invest in its promising oil sector, but failed so far. An agreement of intentions with Brazilian President Lula da Silva failed to materialise in an engagement by Brazil's large state-owned oil company Petrobras.
By staff writer
© afrol News
Angola to explore São Tomé oil
afrol News, 31 October - It is now official that Angola will take part in oil exploration in the São Tomé and Príncipe's economic exclusive area after the two countries' companies signed a partnership agreement. This was announced by the Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe, Tome Vera Cruz.
"We have signed a protocol for the oil sector and there is a memorandum between our national oil agency and Sonangol, but we want to go further so that by forming partnerships we can work together on oil exploration," 'Macauhub' quoted Mr Vera Cruz as saying.
This development came after Mr Vera Cruz had concluded a three-day official visit to Angola. He used the trip to boost bilateral cooperation with Angolan authorities.
He said soon technical teams in the oil sector from both countries would find ways of developing partnerships and bring them to fruition.
Prime Minister Vera Cruz added that his country has two pending debts with Angola, the recent being the result of good relationship between the two countries.
In relation to the other debt, which is older and bilateral, PM Vera Cruz said that he had discussed the issue with the Angolan authorities, "within the framework of the debt pardon to be negotiated with the Paris Club."
A commission involving members from both countries is scheduled to meet in December to analyse new forms of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, São Tomé and Príncipe invited investors from booming Angola to enter his country, which would expedite partnerships between the two countries in various fields. He made the appeal during a visit to Angola upon receiving invitation from his counterpart, President Fernando Dias dos Santos.
In his meeting with Angolan investors in Luanda, Prime Minister Vera Cruz called for greater dynamics among investors and pledged fiscal incentives on investments in his country.
Prime Minister Vera Cruz said there are several business opportunities in his country in addition to the oil sector, which propitiate a public-private partnership among people from both countries.
The government of São Tomé earlier has focused on getting fellow Portuguese speaking nations to invest in its promising oil sector, but failed so far. An agreement of intentions with Brazilian President Lula da Silva failed to materialise in an engagement by Brazil's large state-owned oil company Petrobras.
By staff writer
© afrol News
Addax Petroleum Presents at the Merrill Lynch Global Energy Conference
Calgary, Alberta, October 26th, 2006 – Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC) (“Addax Petroleum” or the “Corporation”) announces that James Pearce, Chief Operating Officer, will be presenting at the Merrill Lynch Global Energy Conference on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at approximately 10:05 a.m. Eastern Time. The presentation will include information detailing the company’s performance, strategy and outlook.
Investors are invited to listen to the live, audio-only webcast via the following link: http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/conflobby.zhtml?ticker=AXC.TO&item_id=1404378
The presentation slides will be available prior to the presentation on Addax Petroleum’s website at www.addaxpetroleum.com.
About Addax Petroleum:
Addax Petroleum Presents at the Merrill Lynch Global Energy Conference
Calgary, Alberta, October 26th, 2006 – Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC) (“Addax Petroleum” or the “Corporation”) announces that James Pearce, Chief Operating Officer, will be presenting at the Merrill Lynch Global Energy Conference on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at approximately 10:05 a.m. Eastern Time. The presentation will include information detailing the company’s performance, strategy and outlook.
Investors are invited to listen to the live, audio-only webcast via the following link: http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/conflobby.zhtml?ticker=AXC.TO&item_id=1404378
The presentation slides will be available prior to the presentation on Addax Petroleum’s website at www.addaxpetroleum.com.
About Addax Petroleum:
BP discovers oil offshore Angola 5,339 meters deep....
New oil well discovered in bloc 31, Angola [ 2006-10-24 ]
Luanda, Angola, 24 Oct – Angolan state oil company Sonangol and British Petroleum (BP) said Monday they had discovered a new oil well in bloc 31, in the ultra deep water off the Angolan coast.
The new well, which has been named Titania, is located some 385 kilometers to the northeast of Luanda and was drilled to a depth of 5,339 meters below the sea level.
In a statement issued in Luanda, Sonangol and BP said that in the test stages the new well produced 2, 045 barrels of oil per day, but noted that a "much higher” production capacity had been confirmed.
Titania is the 11th oil well discovered in bloc 31 and the second to be drilled through layers of salt in order to reach the oil reserves.
BP is bloc 31’s operator, with 26.67 of its capital and its main partners are Esso (25 percent), Sonangol (20 percent), and Statoil (13.33 percent).
The remaining partners are Marathon, with 10 percent, and Tepa. A subsidiary of the Total Group, which owns the remaining 5 percent of the bloc.
Angola is currently the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with production of 1.5 million barrels per day. (macauhub)
Register Now For the Africa Oil & Gas Forum (Nov. 29-Dec. 1)
October 24, 2006, 5 hours, 45 minutes and 46 seconds ago.
By Joseph Nchor
The 2006 Forum will place particular emphasis on building and maintaining strategic partnerships between the United States and African oil and gas producing countries.
( AND ) Washington, D.C. -- The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) will host its annual Africa Oil & Gas Forum from November 29, 2006, to December 1, 2006 in Washington, D.C. Led by the American private sector and co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the conference will showcase business opportunities and key areas for growth in the African energy sector.
“The annual Africa Oil & Gas Forum is the only event in the U.S. designed to bring together key stakeholders in the oil & gas sector from Africa and the U.S.,” said CCA President Stephen Hayes.
The 2006 Forum will place particular emphasis on building and maintaining strategic partnerships between the United States and African oil and gas producing countries.
“The most important goal of the forum is to stimulate dialogue between U.S. companies and their African counterparts, especially in the light of growing competition for the development of Africa’s oil and gas resources, ” Hayes added.
With Africa’s strategic energy supplies and rich endowment of other natural resources, the continent has emerged as a significant strategic partner to the U.S. The rise in crude oil prices has increased the value of U.S. petroleum imports from Africa by 131.8 % since 2000. During 2005, the U.S. imported $37.8 billion of petroleum products from Africa. It is estimated that 20% of U.S. oil imports will come from Africa by the end of the decade.
Energy security, public-private partnerships, local content issues, and emerging investment opportunities in Africa will be addressed during workshops and plenary sessions at the 2006 Africa Oil & Gas Forum. Speakers will include U.S. and African government officials as well as energy business executives, financial institutions, and international organizations. Participants will benefit from first-class networking opportunities with U.S. and African industry leaders.
Program details and registration information can be found on the event web page
http://www.africacncl.org/Events/2006_Oil_Gas_Forum.asp
Registration Rates:
CCA Members: $750
African Attendees: $750
Non-Members: $1000
Government: $550
Accommodation: A special conference rate of $199/night has been negotiated for forum participants. Reservations must be made by November 7th to receive the conference rate. Space is limited.
Visit http://www.africacncl.org/Events/2006_Oil_Gas_Forum.asp for additional information.
About The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)
CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501(3)(c) membership organization of nearly 200 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. Visit CCA's website at www.africacncl.org
Contact:
Kathleen Wells
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)
Tel: 310-551-1010 (Los Angeles)
Cell: 443-994-8827
Email: kwells@africacncl.org
Web: www.africacncl.org
###
This press releasse was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.com: http://www.emailwire.com.
Texasspeculator - are there other ERHC's out there? If so, would you be kind of enough to identify who they are?
thanks,
ND9
JDZ blocks 2,3,4 mentioned in this article
Nigeria’s upstream oil sector of distress
By Senior Fyneface
Posted to the Web: Monday, October 23, 2006
Amidst the trumpeted economic reform initiatives in all the sectors of the Nigerian economy, and assumed gains from them, the nation’s upstream oil and gas sub-sector under the Obasanjo administration could best be described as an arena of distress, investment-wise.
Since 1999, the only remarkable upstream activity in the Nigerian oil sector was the sharing of the remaining lucrative acreages in the deep and ultra-deep offshore amongst President Olusegun Obasanjo's loyalists to compensate them for their political support, including the two blocks ceded to the President using Transcorp Unlimited as front.
The situation is pathetic and no matter how many trips Dr. Edmund Dakouru makes to China to woo investors, as long as President Obasanjo continues to combine the post of the President with that of the Petroleum Minister, the pitiable condition of the nation’s upstream sub-sector would continue to grow from bad to worse.
It is disgraceful that even Chad Republic, a desert country, has maintained an upstream Capital Expenditure (Capex) profile that makes a mockery of what the present administration can boast of as cumulative investment.
Before now, I belonged to the group of industry watchers who believed that the alarm by the multinational oil companies concerning the Federal Government’s joint venture cash call defaults was a conspiracy to blackmail the government. But I received a rude shock recently when I stumbled into a document concerning joint venture financing and arrears of default by just one partner, the Federal Government or aptly the Presidency.
As an indication of the health of the nation’s upstream oil sector, a recent survey conducted by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed that only nine rigs were operational in Nigerian oil fields both in the onshore and offshore arena. This represents over 90 per cent slash in the nation’s previous rig activity.
As if the revelation was not shocking enough, the study went ahead to show that Nigeria ’s African sister OPEC member, Algeria, had 27 rigs in operation within the same period under review. With all its fundamentalist terror attacks and massacres, the country managed to keep up with bubbling activity level in its upstream arena because it knows that there is a very sharp demarcating line between capacity to pump from existing wells and reserve replenishment by capital injection.
Even Indonesia had 45 active rigs with all the uprising and the East Timor palaver in addition to earthquakes and hurricanes.
Iran has 46 active rigs, Kuwait 13, Libya 10, Qatar 10, Saudi Arabia 63, UAE 16 and Venezuela 88.
Libya whose oil industry could best be described as shut down before the recent lifting of sanctions by the Western countries had 10 active rigs within the same period and majority of them are drilling rather than the fleet of walkovers currently engaged in the Nigerian arena.
Is it not shameful to the present administration that with all the monies made over several years of excess crude oil sales, the drilling activities in offshore oil blocks 2, 3 and 4 in the Joint Development Zone owned by Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe cannot get underway until the middle of 2007 because of shortage of drilling rigs?
This is happening in a country whose previous rig activities prior to the Obasanjo era were the envy of neighbouring oil producers. Administrators of the nation’s oil industry should bury their heads in shame for lack of will power to tell the President the truth about the devastating effects of his diversion of investment funds that would have helped sustained and maybe expand the nation’s production capabilities.
Of course what else do you expect when the NNPC Group Managing Director reports directly to the President who acts as the sole administrator of the NNPC despite the fact that he has no iota of knowledge of the dynamics of the oil sector, especially the upstream sub-sector?
The interesting thing about the Nigerian situation is that majority, if not all, of the nine rigs actively working here are work-over machines, not drilling rigs.
Interestingly also, most of the other OPEC countries mentioned have their peculiar share of violence and instability but the difference is the priority they are giving to injecting the highly needed capex fund to fire their upstream activity and this is where the Obasanjo-led government has woefully failed. Except something drastic is done to reverse the trend by injecting back into the oil sector, good part of the monies generated by the sector, Nigeria will continue to lose capacity even if it pumps 5 million barrels per day from one single well. More so, the agitations from the neglected people of the Niger-Delta is not going to abate, rather it will grow worse. This is the pure and simple truth.
Agreed that the country has suffered daily output shortfall of about 1 million barrels due to lost of production orchestrated by the disturbances in the Niger-Delta, President Obasanjo failed to acknowledge that in addition to the protest by the people of the Niger Delta, the Federal Government has the greater part of the blame by its deliberate starvation in funding and default in cash call payments for joint venture operations.
The militants’ attacks which in reality is part of the problem, is mainly an onshore or near-shore phenomenon. So if the country’s production capacity is disrupted at these arenas, can the President say that the same scenario plays in most of the nation’s deep offshore and shallow water producing oil fields?
On good authority, I can say that Nigeria has more offshore production capacity than what we currently have from the land and swamp fields. But the over seven years of neglect in terms of quality investments by the Federal Government (NNPC) produced the current situation which if care is not taken, the remaining output capacity may be tied-in. because the agitation in the Niger-Delta is not going to abate except government listens and dialogue with the Niger-Delta people.
The sole administrator of the nation’s oil industry should tell Nigerians how many new oil fields came on-stream during the seven-year of the Obasanjo administration.
Mr. Fyneface, a public affairs analyst, reservoirs.
SENIOR FYNEFACE WRITES FROM PORT HARCOURT
JDZ Blocks 2,3,4 mentioned in this article
Nigeria’s upstream oil sector of distress
By Senior Fyneface
Posted to the Web: Monday, October 23, 2006
Amidst the trumpeted economic reform initiatives in all the sectors of the Nigerian economy, and assumed gains from them, the nation’s upstream oil and gas sub-sector under the Obasanjo administration could best be described as an arena of distress, investment-wise.
Since 1999, the only remarkable upstream activity in the Nigerian oil sector was the sharing of the remaining lucrative acreages in the deep and ultra-deep offshore amongst President Olusegun Obasanjo's loyalists to compensate them for their political support, including the two blocks ceded to the President using Transcorp Unlimited as front.
The situation is pathetic and no matter how many trips Dr. Edmund Dakouru makes to China to woo investors, as long as President Obasanjo continues to combine the post of the President with that of the Petroleum Minister, the pitiable condition of the nation’s upstream sub-sector would continue to grow from bad to worse.
It is disgraceful that even Chad Republic, a desert country, has maintained an upstream Capital Expenditure (Capex) profile that makes a mockery of what the present administration can boast of as cumulative investment.
Before now, I belonged to the group of industry watchers who believed that the alarm by the multinational oil companies concerning the Federal Government’s joint venture cash call defaults was a conspiracy to blackmail the government. But I received a rude shock recently when I stumbled into a document concerning joint venture financing and arrears of default by just one partner, the Federal Government or aptly the Presidency.
As an indication of the health of the nation’s upstream oil sector, a recent survey conducted by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed that only nine rigs were operational in Nigerian oil fields both in the onshore and offshore arena. This represents over 90 per cent slash in the nation’s previous rig activity.
As if the revelation was not shocking enough, the study went ahead to show that Nigeria ’s African sister OPEC member, Algeria, had 27 rigs in operation within the same period under review. With all its fundamentalist terror attacks and massacres, the country managed to keep up with bubbling activity level in its upstream arena because it knows that there is a very sharp demarcating line between capacity to pump from existing wells and reserve replenishment by capital injection.
Even Indonesia had 45 active rigs with all the uprising and the East Timor palaver in addition to earthquakes and hurricanes.
Iran has 46 active rigs, Kuwait 13, Libya 10, Qatar 10, Saudi Arabia 63, UAE 16 and Venezuela 88.
Libya whose oil industry could best be described as shut down before the recent lifting of sanctions by the Western countries had 10 active rigs within the same period and majority of them are drilling rather than the fleet of walkovers currently engaged in the Nigerian arena.
Is it not shameful to the present administration that with all the monies made over several years of excess crude oil sales, the drilling activities in offshore oil blocks 2, 3 and 4 in the Joint Development Zone owned by Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe cannot get underway until the middle of 2007 because of shortage of drilling rigs?
This is happening in a country whose previous rig activities prior to the Obasanjo era were the envy of neighbouring oil producers. Administrators of the nation’s oil industry should bury their heads in shame for lack of will power to tell the President the truth about the devastating effects of his diversion of investment funds that would have helped sustained and maybe expand the nation’s production capabilities.
Of course what else do you expect when the NNPC Group Managing Director reports directly to the President who acts as the sole administrator of the NNPC despite the fact that he has no iota of knowledge of the dynamics of the oil sector, especially the upstream sub-sector?
The interesting thing about the Nigerian situation is that majority, if not all, of the nine rigs actively working here are work-over machines, not drilling rigs.
Interestingly also, most of the other OPEC countries mentioned have their peculiar share of violence and instability but the difference is the priority they are giving to injecting the highly needed capex fund to fire their upstream activity and this is where the Obasanjo-led government has woefully failed. Except something drastic is done to reverse the trend by injecting back into the oil sector, good part of the monies generated by the sector, Nigeria will continue to lose capacity even if it pumps 5 million barrels per day from one single well. More so, the agitations from the neglected people of the Niger-Delta is not going to abate, rather it will grow worse. This is the pure and simple truth.
Agreed that the country has suffered daily output shortfall of about 1 million barrels due to lost of production orchestrated by the disturbances in the Niger-Delta, President Obasanjo failed to acknowledge that in addition to the protest by the people of the Niger Delta, the Federal Government has the greater part of the blame by its deliberate starvation in funding and default in cash call payments for joint venture operations.
The militants’ attacks which in reality is part of the problem, is mainly an onshore or near-shore phenomenon. So if the country’s production capacity is disrupted at these arenas, can the President say that the same scenario plays in most of the nation’s deep offshore and shallow water producing oil fields?
On good authority, I can say that Nigeria has more offshore production capacity than what we currently have from the land and swamp fields. But the over seven years of neglect in terms of quality investments by the Federal Government (NNPC) produced the current situation which if care is not taken, the remaining output capacity may be tied-in. because the agitation in the Niger-Delta is not going to abate except government listens and dialogue with the Niger-Delta people.
The sole administrator of the nation’s oil industry should tell Nigerians how many new oil fields came on-stream during the seven-year of the Obasanjo administration.
Mr. Fyneface, a public affairs analyst, reservoirs.
SENIOR FYNEFACE WRITES FROM PORT HARCOURT
Egypt, China to jointly build 3 oil rigs by 2007
11:21 AM ET Oct 22, 2006
CAIRO (Zawya Dow Jones) -- Egypt signed three agreements with China involving cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, largely through building oil rigs, Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.
The pan-Arab daily said Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy signed an agreement creating a joint Egyptian-Chinese company with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, specializing in building oil rigs.
The company, named Sino-Tharwa, is set to deliver three rigs by 2007, another seven by 2008 and aims at raising production to 20 rigs by 2010.
The rigs will help boost exploration activities in Egypt, in light of an increased demand for rigs and the rising cost of hiring rigs, Fahmy was quoted as saying.
A second agreement signed during Fahmy's recent visit to China was with China's Sinoc to cooperate in international tenders that Egypt announces for exploration and discovery.
The third agreement was signed with Sinopec to increase the firm's activities in Egypt and raise the number of its oil rigs from two to seven in two years' time.
-By Maha El Dahan, Dow Jones Newswires, +20122267850, mahaeldahan@yahoo.com
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
-Contact: 201-938-5400
Egypt, China to jointly build 3 oil rigs by 2007
11:21 AM ET Oct 22, 2006
CAIRO (Zawya Dow Jones) -- Egypt signed three agreements with China involving cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, largely through building oil rigs, Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.
The pan-Arab daily said Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy signed an agreement creating a joint Egyptian-Chinese company with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, specializing in building oil rigs.
The company, named Sino-Tharwa, is set to deliver three rigs by 2007, another seven by 2008 and aims at raising production to 20 rigs by 2010.
The rigs will help boost exploration activities in Egypt, in light of an increased demand for rigs and the rising cost of hiring rigs, Fahmy was quoted as saying.
A second agreement signed during Fahmy's recent visit to China was with China's Sinoc to cooperate in international tenders that Egypt announces for exploration and discovery.
The third agreement was signed with Sinopec to increase the firm's activities in Egypt and raise the number of its oil rigs from two to seven in two years' time.
-By Maha El Dahan, Dow Jones Newswires, +20122267850, mahaeldahan@yahoo.com
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
-Contact: 201-938-5400
Angola to pass Nigeria in deep water production
"Within a few years, analysts reckon Nigeria (sub-Sahara Africa's biggest oil producer) will be playing catch-up with Angola" in deep-water production, Petroleum Economist magazine says in its latest edition."
ND9
*****************************************************
Oct. 21, 2006, 9:20PM
Nation offers a level of stability to an energy-hungry world
Angola is becoming an oil giant in Africa
By MICHELLE FAUL
Associated Press
The behemoth rises from the Atlantic Ocean seabed, testament to Africa's growing importance to an energy-hungry world fearful of its dependence on the explosive Middle East, and to Angola's growing importance within Africa.
Chevron's $2.3 billion Benguela Belize platform, dwarfing the Statue of Liberty at 1,680 feet, is the third such tower built in the world. It is the first outside of the Gulf of Mexico, and an innovation in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, where floating platforms long have held sway. Drilling some months ago drew the first crude into the structure.
"Within a few years, analysts reckon Nigeria (sub-Sahara Africa's biggest oil producer) will be playing catch-up with Angola" in deep-water production, Petroleum Economist magazine says in its latest edition.
Angola's oil output is pro- jected to surpass 2 million barrels a day next year and increase by 90 percent from 2005 levels by 2010, according to conservative estimates of the International Monetary Fund. It says that would double Angolan government revenues, even allowing for a price drop. Chevron produces just over 500,000 barrels a day and plans to double production in the next five years.
Low-level conflict
Angola offers stability despite a 30-year civil war and a continuing low-level conflict by separatists in the Cabinda enclave, where the vast majority of its oil is produced. The recent signing of a peace pact with one separatist faction coincided with deployments of more government troops in the enclave, where human rights activists say the government is trying to suppress them.
The Gulf of Guinea encompasses waters from all of sub-Saharan Africa's oil producers except South Africa and is a magnet for investment where competition for influence is fierce between European, U.S., Chinese, Indian and other Asian interests.
This year, Angola overtook Saudi Arabia as the leading source of crude oil for China. China's president and prime minister visited Africa this year, as did the leaders of Russia, Iran, Bolivia and Venezuela.
Chevron was the first company to produce oil in Angola, starting in 1957. Production grew despite the civil war that erupted after independence from Portugal in 1975 and ended in 2002.
Today, Chevron's sprawling seaside operation at Malongo, a fenced enclave within the enclave of Cabinda that includes massive oil storage tanks, an aging dock, staff housing and greenhouses, is protected by land mines. Alan Kleier, an American who is general manager of Chevron operations for southern Africa, said Chevron was negotiating with the government, which laid the mines, to find other means to protect the property. Cabinda is hedged in between the two Congos and shares no border with Angola.
While Nigerian militants and others in Africa complain that oil companies import staff to do work that could be given to locals, in Angola Chevron boasts that 88 percent of its 6,000 employees are nationals — a percentage the company surpasses only in the U.S. and Europe.
"Of all the places I have worked in around the world, this is one of the most stable settings," said Jim Blackwell, the Angola-based managing director of Chevron's southern Africa operations. He's worked in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Nigeria.
Angolan officials "drive a hard bargain but once you strike a deal with them, they do stick to it," Blackwell said.
Bottom of the list
That would give Angola points over Chad, Africa's newest oil producer, which last month threatened to expel Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. in a dispute over payments that led to renegotiating a contract drawn up in 2000.
Still, the World Economic Forum last month put Angola at the bottom of a list of 125 countries in a poll measuring business competitiveness. It examined issues such as judicial independence, property rights, government favoritism and corruption. Angola ended up below corrupt and crime-riddled Nigeria, which ranked 101.
Human rights groups charge Angolan officials are hiding oil revenues, making it impossible to know whether money is being stolen or wasted.
Chevron officials said their contracts prohibit them from saying how much they pay the government — a restriction that has hampered years of efforts to bring oil revenues out into the open in countries like Angola and Nigeria, which earn billions from petroleum but whose people live in misery.
Angolan officials argue that they are struggling to turn around a nation nearly destroyed by war. One in four Angolan children does not live beyond five years, and many of those who survive die by 40. Most live on less than $2 a day.
Twice the size of Texas
By conservative estimates, Angola earned $8 billion from oil last year and has a population of just 14.5 million in an area twice the size of Texas.
"The government is getting huge windfalls. Though no one really knows how much they are getting, it's a huge amount that properly dealt with would pay for a proper poverty reduction program," said Sarah Wilkes of Global Witness, which is campaigning for transparency about oil revenues around the world.
The government says it is reforming. A Chevron official pointed a reporter to the Ministry of Finance Web site, where oil figures supposedly are published, but it had outdated material and a link promising a diagnostic study of the oil sector came up blank.
BB - I posted this before but from Centurion website:
I like the part about "Several elephant size structures"
ND9
************************************************
Post # 69601
Centurion website: Several elephant size structures!
Sao Tome/Nigeria JDZ Operations: Sao Tome/Nigeria JDZ
Awarded 10% (7.5% net) in Block 4 of Sao Tome / Nigeria JDZ
$US 90 million gross signature bonus
212,000 acres (16,000 net)
World class exploration acreage
Several elephant size structures mapped on 3D seismic
Potential 2.5 - 3.5 billion barrels
3 exploration phases:
http://www.centurionenergy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=65
Beijing cancels debt of 31 African nations
The Chinese capital is preparing to host the third summit of the Forum, to be attended by African Heads of State and ministers.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
by MISNA | Tags: china, africa, debt cancellation
China has cancelled a little under 11 billion Yuan (1.1 billion euros) from the overall bilateral debts of 31 African nations at the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, as reported by Beijing’s Trade Ministry spokesman.
The Chinese capital is preparing to host the third summit of the Forum, to be attended by African Heads of State and ministers.
Since the first Forum in 2000, added the same official, economic and cultural trade between China and African nations have progressively reinforced, as demonstrated by the 720 projects financed by Beijing in 49 countries in Africa, as well as the 10,000 African students that have attended Chinese schools and Universities.
The ministry said the investment of Chinese companies in Africa is $6.27 billion.
China’s success on the African markets was hailed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who in an interview with the Chinese Xinhua news agency dismissed allegations by the western mass media that Beijing is looting Africa, filling it with low price and quality products that damage local producers.
“China's imports of oil and minerals from Africa satisfied the need of its fast-growing economy”, continued Zenawi, adding that the prices of Africa's oil and minerals have increased significantly as a result of China's big buying power. “That is directly in the interest of Africa”.
Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA)
Nigerian firms to forfeit oil blocks over equity irregularities
October 18, 2006, 13 hours, 6 minutes and 7 seconds ago.
By www.andnetwork .com
Indigenous oil firms that transferred the majority shareholding of their oil blocks to foreign companies under the sole risk terms and marginal field programme are to forfeit them to the federal government. Such blocks will be acquired to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The sole risk contract was put in place by the federal government in 1990 to assist Nigerian companies with limited capital to participate in the exploration and production (E&P) of crude oil and natural gas, especially in the offshore terrains.
Oil industry sources said the NNPC is to acquire a majority interest in the oil blocks awarded these Nigerian oil firms under favourable conditions by the federal government to check the carefree sales of their interests to foreign companies under the pretence of securing technical partners. The sources noted that only six out of 50 Nigerian companies awarded blocks have started production of crude oil since the introduction of the sole risk programme in 1990 and marginal field programme in 2001. These include Express Petroleum, Dubri Oil, Consolidated Oil, Atlas Petroleum, Express Petroleum, Amni International Petroleum Development Company and Moni Pulo Petroleum Development Company.
The sole risk contract also allows these companies to carry out exploration and development of their blocks without the oversight of the NNPC. “The abuse of these policies by Nigerian companies have led to contribution of only five percent to Nigeria’s daily production capacity of crude oil by these companies, compared with the federal government’s target of 20 per cent”, the sources said.
The introduction of this policy led to the award of 24 marginal fields in 2003 to encourage participation of Nigerian companies in the upstream sector of the industry. These fields were confiscated from multinational oil firms after they had been abandoned for several years because the fields had low level of production capacity - below 10,000 barrels per day (bpd). The capacity was considered unprofitable by these multinationals.
It is envisaged that the acquisition would check the erosion of the Nigerian content policy by the action of the Nigerian oil firms.
Tony Chukwueke, director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), confirmed at the Nigerian Content seminar organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (Nape) in Lagos yesterday that the NNPC is to acquire interest in these blocks under the sole risk terms, using the corporation’s backing regulation put in place by the federal government in 2003.
The regulation permits NNPC to farm-in into any oil block belonging to Nigerian oil firms operating under the sole risk contract. This, he said, would ensure that what exists as regulation now is actually enforced to improve participation of genuine Nigerian companies in the oil and gas industry so as to improve technology transfer and ownership of hydrocarbon assets.
“It is unfortunate that four out of the six Nigerian companies producing crude oil in the industry now have dominance of foreign management and board of directors, contrary to the aims and objectives of the sole risk programme”, he said.
Industry analysts said the new position of the federal government would reduce the number of Nigerian companies hawking oil blocks abroad. “This is a good policy for the first time in the last 50 years of crude oil exploration and development that will increase the contribution of the industry to gross domestic product presently put at 12 per cent”, he said.
Chukwueke said most of the operators of marginal fields have also joined the bandwagon of Nigerian companies selling their equity to foreign companies immediately after the award was approved in order to quick returns in a short term period. Besides Platform Energy and Niger Delta Exploration and Production Company, he said most of the marginal field operators have been lobbying the DPR to secure approval to obtain foreign technical partners so as to sell their interests.
“We have been very careful to grant fresh approval of technical partners for marginal field operators when it became clear that they had no genuine intention than to sell the fields for money. The hawking of the 10 per cent local content vehicle approved during the 2005 licensing round came to the knowledge of and displeasure of Mr. President, which resulted in the suspension of the programme during the mini licensing round this year ”, he said.
Financial Standard
India’s push into Africa
Our weekly column on research made simple
N CHANDRA MOHAN
Posted online: Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 0049 hours IST
Unctad’s latest World Investment Report, 2006 highlights an interesting fact: transnational corporations from India, China and Asia have begun to show a growing appetite for foreign direct investments (FDI) in Africa. FDI from India totalled $1.7 billion, or $334 million yearly, between 2000-2004, while that of China is estimated at $1.18 billion. China had 16 new FDI projects, while India had 12 in 2005.
This push into Africa by India and China has been motivated largely by their desire to secure access to oil and raw materials for their rapidly growing economies. India’s ONGC has, thus, been heavily involved in oil exploration in Sudan. So, too, has the China National Petroleum Corporation and Malaysia’s Petronas. Asian oil giants have also been staking out opportunities in Nigeria and Angola. But of late, however, significant Indian and Chinese investments have been made in apparel, food processing, retail ventures, fisheries, real estate, tourism and telecom.
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According to a recent book, Africa’s Silk Road: China and India’s New Economic Frontier, by Harry Broadman: “Some of these investments are propelling African trade into cutting-edge multinational corporate networks, which are increasingly altering the ‘international division of labour’.” Broadman, who surveyed 450 firms, including Chinese and Indian companies operating in four African countries and developed in-depth case studies of an additional 16 Chinese and Indian firms in Africa, argues that India and China are now pursuing commercial strategies beyond securing oil and raw materials.
Obviously, the growing involvement of India and China would not have been possible without aid. China, therefore, plans to step up contributions to its Africa Human Resources Development Front by 33% and train 10,000 personnel from Africa by 2008. India is not too far behind — its technicians have been running training schemes to build small companies in several African countries. Both Asian countries are also providing resources for technical cooperation to facilitate technology transfer, among other things.
While rising FDI from India and China holds great promise for Africa, reforms are needed to strengthen this. The business environment needs to be more investor-friendly and transaction costs lowered. An Indian firm in Ghana found it so costly to ship a container from Accra to Lagos that it decided to do a cross-border investment rather than export. Investment promotion agencies must be strengthened. Broadman advocates reforms leveraging linkages between investment and trade to allow African businesses’ participation in global production-sharing networks generated by Indian and Chinese investments.
Beijing China-Africa Summit November 4-5.
******************************
Same article - just wanted to point out this Beijing Summit in November
ND9
****************************
China 'not pushing for Africa oil deals'
UPDATED: 08:44, October 19, 2006
China 'not pushing for Africa oil deals'
>China relies mainly on domestic resources for energy supply and is not pushing for more oil imports from Africa, a senior planning official said yesterday.
Asked if a summit with African nations early next month would produce more oil deals, Zhang Yuqing of the National Development and Reform Commission said:
"Whether China will increase oil imports from Africa will be determined by mutual business consultations."
The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation will be held on November 4-5.
Zhang, deputy chief of the commission's energy bureau, told a news briefing that imports constituted less than 10 per cent of China's total energy consumption, and those from Africa accounted for less than a third of the imports.
Collaboration between energy-hungry China and resource-rich Africa is based on commercial considerations, Zhang said. About 38 million tons, or nearly 30 per cent, of oil imports came from the continent last year, he said.
"The scale of China-Africa co-operation in the energy sector is very limited at the moment," he added.
In the course of energy collaboration, China has helped the African industry in exploration, production and processing; and donated to the construction of roads and bridges, Zhang said.
He rejected US criticism of China's oil investments in African countries, such as in Sudan.
Chinese oil companies have sought to invest in the US, he pointed out, but oil giant CNOOC last year had to withdraw a bid to buy US producer Unocal in the face of political pressure.
The company said in July that it was looking at opportunities in Africa.
The country needs energy to fuel further development, but China itself is also a large producer, Zhang said.
"Our self-reliance is more than 90 per cent at present, and we will primarily rely on domestic production for energy supply," he said.
Officials have earlier said that in addition to overseas sources, China would develop clean, alternative energy resources and improve energy efficiency.
As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic ties with the continent, China has invited leaders of the 48 members of the Forum on China-African Co-operation to further advance bilateral relations, a Ministry of
Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.
Five nations which do not have diplomatic ties with China have also been invited as observers, Xu Jinghu, chief of the ministry's Africa Department, told the same news briefing.
The five countries are Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia and Sao Tome and Principe.
The Beijing summit is expected to adopt a political declaration and a plan of action on social and economic development, she said.
The third ministerial conference of the forum will be held on November 3, a day before the summit.
Source: China Daily
China 'not pushing for Africa oil deals'
UPDATED: 08:44, October 19, 2006
China 'not pushing for Africa oil deals'
>China relies mainly on domestic resources for energy supply and is not pushing for more oil imports from Africa, a senior planning official said yesterday.
Asked if a summit with African nations early next month would produce more oil deals, Zhang Yuqing of the National Development and Reform Commission said:
"Whether China will increase oil imports from Africa will be determined by mutual business consultations."
The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation will be held on November 4-5.
Zhang, deputy chief of the commission's energy bureau, told a news briefing that imports constituted less than 10 per cent of China's total energy consumption, and those from Africa accounted for less than a third of the imports.
Collaboration between energy-hungry China and resource-rich Africa is based on commercial considerations, Zhang said. About 38 million tons, or nearly 30 per cent, of oil imports came from the continent last year, he said.
"The scale of China-Africa co-operation in the energy sector is very limited at the moment," he added.
In the course of energy collaboration, China has helped the African industry in exploration, production and processing; and donated to the construction of roads and bridges, Zhang said.
He rejected US criticism of China's oil investments in African countries, such as in Sudan.
Chinese oil companies have sought to invest in the US, he pointed out, but oil giant CNOOC last year had to withdraw a bid to buy US producer Unocal in the face of political pressure.
The company said in July that it was looking at opportunities in Africa.
The country needs energy to fuel further development, but China itself is also a large producer, Zhang said.
"Our self-reliance is more than 90 per cent at present, and we will primarily rely on domestic production for energy supply," he said.
Officials have earlier said that in addition to overseas sources, China would develop clean, alternative energy resources and improve energy efficiency.
As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic ties with the continent, China has invited leaders of the 48 members of the Forum on China-African Co-operation to further advance bilateral relations, a Ministry of
Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.
Five nations which do not have diplomatic ties with China have also been invited as observers, Xu Jinghu, chief of the ministry's Africa Department, told the same news briefing.
The five countries are Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia and Sao Tome and Principe.
The Beijing summit is expected to adopt a political declaration and a plan of action on social and economic development, she said.
The third ministerial conference of the forum will be held on November 3, a day before the summit.
Source: China Daily
Read post #78296 EOM.
Centurion Expected to Win Its Financial War
By Cyril Widdershoven
14 Oct 2006 at 12:36 PM EDT
AMSTERDAM (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Canadian oil and gas minnow Centurion Energy International [TSX:CUX; LSE:CUX] has been treading some difficult waters lately. Not only was the company threatened by a sharp financing of projects, but at the same time, new upstream projects in Egypt have fallen below expectations. At least, that has been the general assessment of financial analysts.
Negative market sentiment has cut the Canadian operator’s market capitalization to pieces, showing a fall of not only share price value but also confidence. Luckily, Centurion’s management team has not shown any strain; optimism has been the leading factor until now for its overall success story, supported by unexpected positive results.
Last week, Centurion reported that it had closed a new debt facility with French bank, BNP Paribas, worth around US$215 million. The deal will not only replace the existing deal with Standard Bank, worth US$100 million, but will be used to repay outstanding debt, invest in several new assets in Egypt and expand future exploration activities.
At the same time, Centurion reported that it has put in place a new condensate recovery strategy in Egypt, targeting improved oil recovery. Centurion Egypt has indicated that it has commissioned Phase 1 of the El Wastani Facilities Upgrade Project, which entails the installation of a Mechanical Refrigeration Unit to improve condensate recovery. Before the end of 2006, Centurion expects that Phase 2, the installation of the LPG plant, will be completed.
Analysts have indicated that the additional 3,600 barrels of LNG produced by the revamped and updated plant is necessary; not only to improve total production capacity but also to increase Centurion’s overall stock market standing. Centurion’s overall oil production in Egypt, including the new facility, will increase during the coming months from 32,000 bpd to upwards of 38,000 bpd by the end of 2006.
Significant progress is expected to be made on the Gelgel operation, based on the current Gelgel-13 well. The latter is of the utmost importance, as continuing success will give the company new access to producing assets which can be linked to the already existing South El Manzala field facilities. First results of Gelgel-13 have indicated that the El Wastani and Kafr El Sheikh formations have a combined net gas pay of 22 metres, with a production capacity of more than 800 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
More success is expected to come during 2007, when Centurion will continue its aggressive drilling campaign, entailing 10 exploration and appraisal wells and two development wells, all to be drilled on its Egyptian exploration and development leases. Most of the planned wells will be drilled in the West Manzala and West Qantara exploration blocks, with wells planned to test shallow (Abu Madi and Qawasim formations) and deeper (Sidi Salim and potentially Oligocene) reservoir targets.
A total of 12 prospects have been mapped to date and additional leads are being matured. Two of the Sidi Salim prospects have already been drilled, and represent potential drilling targets for 2007.
Increased reserves potential, combined with production increases and an overall debt reduction, will be necessary to support the company’s strategy to be recognized as a main player. Its joint-ventures with several majors, such as Shell [NYSE:RDS-B], are also an integral part of its future plans. The still one-line player, focused on mainly upstream operations, wants to become a downstream operator too. Egypt is already targeted as the breeding ground for this success.
Expansion outside of North Africa, where Centurion holds assets in Egypt and Tunisia, will increase the company’s market power. As one of the first independents, Centurion has been actively involved in the offshore deepwater Joint Development Zone, held by Nigeria and island state Sao Tome & Principe. In mid-August 2006, Centurion increased its stake in Block 4 in the JDZ to 9.5%, an increase of 2%. In order to acquire the additional interest, Arrata stated to the press that they would purchase a 25% equity holding in Hercules Petroleum Limited for a cash consideration of US$4.4 million, making Hercules a wholly owned subsidiary.
To support the above aggressive future strategy, Centurion also has increased the impact of its current management. The position of the founders, such as Said Arrata, is not being questioned internally, but financial sources have indicated that a broader management scope is necessary to attract new financial support. As one of the first steps to acquire this new market position, Centurion already has appointed two new members of the board, Carmine Falcone and Joe Darby. The first is former VP Oil Products Shell and Director Strategic Planning, well positioned to address downstream operations, while Joe Darby’s name is linked to famous independent Lasmo, where he has been the CEO and main backer of the independents success.
Centurion’s current situation looks very promising; its current market capitalization does not represent the potential of the company at all. Based on potential reserves and production increases coming online soon, a full upswing of its share price is to be expected. Taking into account Centurion’s management and project history through the past decade, investors can be ensured that the company has profit potential.
Floating Oil factories allow tankers to load at sea
OCTOBER 16, 2006
One More Reason Prices Are Falling
Floating oil factories allow tankers to load at sea, avoiding political instability and saving billions
Slide Show >>Nigeria is a rough place to do business. In the past year, rebels seeking a greater share of the country's energy wealth have bombed Royal Dutch Shell's pipelines and kidnapped its workers. The oil giant was forced to shut down half of its production there, most of which is situated in the Niger River Delta, a steamy swampland populated by farmers, fishermen, and angry militias.
Far out at sea, the situation is much safer. Since late last year, Shell has been extracting oil from its massive Bonga field, a $3.6 billion project located in 3,200 feet of water. The field now yields more than 200,000 barrels a day, thanks to a high-tech facility called a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, or FPSO. It looks like an oil tanker and can hold up to 2 million barrels in its belly, but its primary purpose is to load up tankers out at sea, rather than piping the crude to an onshore terminal. The oil streaming in from Bonga and other deepwater sites like it helps explain why oil prices have settled down to under $60 from a July high of $78.
For the oil companies, benefits abound. FPSOs spare them billions of dollars in infrastructure costs, years of construction time, and in the case of Nigeria, the significant costs and setbacks associated with political instability. "The FPSO gives you a great deal of flexibility," says John Stubbs, the Shell executive who got the Bonga project up and running.
FPSOs are now pumping away off the coasts of Brazil, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, extracting more than 5million barrels per day, up from 1.5million barrels five years ago, according to oil industry researcher Wood Mackenzie.
Handling millions of barrels of crude far out at sea does open up the risk of oil spills and other types of contamination. But that's not likely to slow the proliferation of FPSOs. As more production has moved farther offshore in the past five years, the number of these immense vessels in uses has doubled to 113 worldwide, according to industry consultant Douglas-Westwood Ltd. An additional 83 will be launched by 2011, worth an anticipated $26billion in revenues to shipbuilders, most of them based in Korea and Japan.
Costing hundreds of millions of dollars apiece and measuring as much as three football fields in length, the platforms are towed from the manufacturer' shipyards and anchored at the richest oil fields. At sea, they're typically tended by some 100 crewmen who work a month on, a month off. "We call them superboats," says Michael Flynn, head of deepwater developments for Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM . "They're really like small cities."
ExxonMobil sometimes sends smaller FPSOs to jump-start production at fields until serious infrastructure can be built. Under a program it calls "design one, build three," the company ordered up three FPSOs for use at a series of fields in West Africa. It cost $10 billion to bring the fields online, but they produce a combined 700,000 barrels per day, nearly 1% of worldwide oil demand.
The one part of the world where the floating factories have yet to make an appearance is the Gulf of Mexico, since there is already an extensive pipeline infrastructure. But things may change. Devon Energy Corp. DVN , which announced a big discovery in the deepwater Gulf in late summer with Chevron Corp. CVX , is looking at FPSOs.
What about hurricanes? FPSOs operated by Conoco-Phillips off the coast of China and Vietnam are designed to turn in place, minimizing the impact of waves during typhoon season. They can also detach from the undersea wells and get towed away if conditions turn ominous. Built this way, facilities in the Gulf could endure foul weather better than the ones dependent on the pipelines that were battered so severely by hurricanes last year.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005085.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_compani...
Floating oil factories allow tankers to load at sea
OCTOBER 16, 2006
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005085.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_compani...
One More Reason Prices Are Falling
Floating oil factories allow tankers to load at sea, avoiding political instability and saving billions
Slide Show >>Nigeria is a rough place to do business. In the past year, rebels seeking a greater share of the country's energy wealth have bombed Royal Dutch Shell's pipelines and kidnapped its workers. The oil giant was forced to shut down half of its production there, most of which is situated in the Niger River Delta, a steamy swampland populated by farmers, fishermen, and angry militias.
Far out at sea, the situation is much safer. Since late last year, Shell has been extracting oil from its massive Bonga field, a $3.6 billion project located in 3,200 feet of water. The field now yields more than 200,000 barrels a day, thanks to a high-tech facility called a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, or FPSO. It looks like an oil tanker and can hold up to 2 million barrels in its belly, but its primary purpose is to load up tankers out at sea, rather than piping the crude to an onshore terminal. The oil streaming in from Bonga and other deepwater sites like it helps explain why oil prices have settled down to under $60 from a July high of $78.
For the oil companies, benefits abound. FPSOs spare them billions of dollars in infrastructure costs, years of construction time, and in the case of Nigeria, the significant costs and setbacks associated with political instability. "The FPSO gives you a great deal of flexibility," says John Stubbs, the Shell executive who got the Bonga project up and running.
FPSOs are now pumping away off the coasts of Brazil, West Africa, and Southeast Asia, extracting more than 5million barrels per day, up from 1.5million barrels five years ago, according to oil industry researcher Wood Mackenzie.
Handling millions of barrels of crude far out at sea does open up the risk of oil spills and other types of contamination. But that's not likely to slow the proliferation of FPSOs. As more production has moved farther offshore in the past five years, the number of these immense vessels in uses has doubled to 113 worldwide, according to industry consultant Douglas-Westwood Ltd. An additional 83 will be launched by 2011, worth an anticipated $26billion in revenues to shipbuilders, most of them based in Korea and Japan.
Costing hundreds of millions of dollars apiece and measuring as much as three football fields in length, the platforms are towed from the manufacturer' shipyards and anchored at the richest oil fields. At sea, they're typically tended by some 100 crewmen who work a month on, a month off. "We call them superboats," says Michael Flynn, head of deepwater developments for Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM . "They're really like small cities."
ExxonMobil sometimes sends smaller FPSOs to jump-start production at fields until serious infrastructure can be built. Under a program it calls "design one, build three," the company ordered up three FPSOs for use at a series of fields in West Africa. It cost $10 billion to bring the fields online, but they produce a combined 700,000 barrels per day, nearly 1% of worldwide oil demand.
The one part of the world where the floating factories have yet to make an appearance is the Gulf of Mexico, since there is already an extensive pipeline infrastructure. But things may change. Devon Energy Corp. DVN , which announced a big discovery in the deepwater Gulf in late summer with Chevron Corp. CVX , is looking at FPSOs.
What about hurricanes? FPSOs operated by Conoco-Phillips off the coast of China and Vietnam are designed to turn in place, minimizing the impact of waves during typhoon season. They can also detach from the undersea wells and get towed away if conditions turn ominous. Built this way, facilities in the Gulf could endure foul weather better than the ones dependent on the pipelines that were battered so severely by hurricanes last year.
READER COMMENTS
Sao Tome and Principe to produce 30,000 barrels of oil per day in 2013, IMF says [ 2006-10-12 ]
Washington, USA, 12 Oct – Sao Tome and Principe is expected to produce 30,000 barrels of oil per day in 2013, which will provide the country with US$92 million per year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said adding that this was a conservative estimate.
In a study of the Sao Tome economy published Wednesday, the IMF said that the oil production estimate was based on the conservative forecast that just two of the six blocs located in the joint development area (with Nigeria) will be commercially viable.
The projection is based on oil prices of US$30 a barrel, which many analysts see as very unlikely as oil is currently being sold at US$60.
The IMF said that if Sao Tome and Principe’s share of the joint area with Nigeria rose to 80,000 barrels per day revenues would triple.
In the study the IMF said that one of the challenges that Sao Tome and Principe is facing is “the need to administrate a potentially large oil income with weak institutional and absorption capabilities.”
According to the IMF “in the short and medium term one of the main tasks will be to develop institutions to ensure effective, transparent and responsible administration for oil income.” (macauhub)
Chevron to invest $6 bln in Indonesia gas fields
Reuters
Monday, October 9, 2006; 4:01 AM
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Chevron Corp. (CVX.N) plans to invest about $6 billion to develop gas fields off the coast of Borneo, aiming to crank up flagging Indonesian gas output, a senior official at the country's oil watchdog said on Monday.
Indonesia, the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, has failed to meet its contractual commitments to traditional buyers such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan because of a slump in production.
"Chevron said it wanted to develop gas fields in East Kalimantan, including Gehem and Gendalo until 2012 with investment of about $6 billion," BPMIGAS chief Kardaya Warnika said via a telephone text message.
East Kalimantan is an Indonesian province on Borneo.
Warnika said Chevron had told an Indonesian delegation chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla during a U.S. trip last month it wanted to invest more in the energy sector in Southeast Asia's top economy.
Chevron Indonesia president director Suwito Anggoro confirmed that the firm would develop several gas fields offshore East Kalimantan.
"We will submit plans on development next year. If approved by BPMIGAS then we will develop those fields," Anggoro said.
Another BPMIGAS official, who declined to be identified, said the Gehem and Gendalo gas fields were seen as having the potential to boost gas production and help offset declining output from other gas fields in the province.
Chevron currently is supplying the Bontang LNG plant with about 200 million cubic feet per day of gas. Total (TOTF.PA) is supplying the plant in East Kalimantan with about 2.6 billion cubic feet per day, while Vico Indonesia supplies around 600 million cubic feet per day.
Vico's shareholders include BP Plc. (BP.L) and Italian energy group Eni SpA (ENI.MI).
Indonesia has said it would favor domestic gas sales after major export contracts to Japan lapse, cutting back on a major hard currency export earner.
Indonesia has said an 8.4 million tonne-per-year (tpy) LNG contract with Japan expires in 2010 and another 3.6 million-tpy deal ends in 2011, equivalent to about two-thirds of Japan's total LNG imports from Indonesia.
Indonesia is pushing to increase natural gas as an alternative source of energy as global oil prices soar and its domestic crude reserves dwindle.
ONGC Mittal secures Nigerian oil block
Source: IRIS NEWS DIGEST (09 October 2006)
ONGC (Q, N,C,F)* Mittal Energy, the joint venture company floated by ONGC and Mittal Steel, has bagged a highly prospective oil block in Nigeria, reports Business Standard.
The joint venture company bid USD100 million for Nigeria`s OPL 246, after South Atlantic Petroleum`s (Sapetro) licence for the block was revoked.
ONGC Mittal outbid INC Natural Resources and BG-Sahara after Sapetro lost a legal challenge against a government decision to revoke the licence.
OPL 246 is the relinquished area of the billion-barrel Akpo oilfield of Sapetro, which is partly owned by Theophilus Danjuma, former defence minister of Nigeria.
ONGC lost the bid to acquire Sapetro`s 45% stake in Akpo to China`s CNOOC, after the Indian government disallowed the state-owned firm from proceeding with the transaction.
ONGC Mittal has to pay 25% of the USD100 million signature bonus committed for OPL 246 this week, failing which, it will lose the block to INC, which was designated as the reserved bidder.
In Nigeria, ONGC Mittal had recently secured licences for OPL 209 near ExxonMobil`s Erha project and OPL 285, where Statoil earlier struck hydrocarbon. ONGC, however, pulled out of two Nigerian deepwater blocks 323 and 321, following differences with majority stakeholder, Korean National Oil Co.
However, South Atlantic had asked a Nigerian court to review the government`s decision to revoke the remnant of OPL 246 after the giant Akpo oilfield was discovered.
The Akpo field, about 200 km off the Nigerian coast and operated by French energy giant Total, is expected to produce 225,000 barrels of oil a day when it comes on stream in the second half of 2008.
Motley Fool mentions Sao Tome... unimaginable wealth
Here's a key paragraph from article: "Another potential worry lies in the tiny African country of Sao Tome e Principe, which shares an offshore petroleum field with oil-producing basket case Nigeria. ChevronTexaco (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), among others, have just recently begun drilling in the field, and if projections are to be believed, nearly unimaginable wealth is about to pour into this tiny island nation."
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06100621.htm
ND9
US Gives Radar System to Sao Tome and Principe
October 04, 2006
The U.S. military is giving the West African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe an $18 million system to help it keep track of activity in its territorial waters and nearby ocean areas. The military hopes the move will inspire other countries in the area to accept or develop similar capabilities in order to improve regional security.
The navy calls it a “Maritime Domain Awareness System.” It is a network of radar dishes, radio antennas and infra-red, high-powered binoculars, designed to detect unauthorized use of the sea.
Much of the U.S. military activity in Africa involves training local armies and navies to better control their territories. U.S. military officers say the goal is to ensure that what they call “ungoverned spaces” do not become safe havens for terrorists.
The science advisor to the U.S. Navy’s European Command, John Middleman, says the sea is the world’s largest “ungoverned space,” and the United States wants the coastal states of Africa to expand their ability to govern their part of that space.
“By creating capabilities in many countries to gather information, that gives them better awareness of their maritime domain, and then to share that, we hope to improve the overall maritime safety, security, economic well-being, [and] environmental protection of the area,” he said.
Middleman says the new system for Sao Tome and Principe will take two years to build, and American trainers will stay in the islands for an additional year to make sure local troops or civilians are fully qualified to operate it. He says most of the builders and trainers will be civilians, and when the project is finished, it will be entirely handed over to the local government.
The system includes a maritime radar component that can provide information about vessels within about 25 kilometers and large antennas that can detect signals broadcast by large ships as far as 150 kilometers away.
High-powered binoculars and infra-red sensors provide more information about what is in nearby areas of the sea. The goal is to detect boats involved in illegal activities, such as terrorism, smuggling people or goods, illegal fishing and the dumping of garbage and other pollutants.
Science adviser Middleman notes that, because most of the countries of West Africa have only short coastlines, a boat involved in such activities can cross the territorial waters of several countries in a short period of time.
He says that is why the United States would like to provide similar systems to other countries in the region, or for those countries to develop their own maritime awareness capabilities.
He says U.S. officials also hope the countries will share their data, to provide all of them with a regional view, but he says data sharing is not required, not even with the United States.
“We hope to demonstrate the power of regional information sharing, but there’s no burden for any country to share information they don’t want to,” he said.
The agreement to provide the Maritime Awareness System to Sao Tome and Principe comes as the U.S. military is considering establishing a separate command to handle its operations in Africa, which are now divided among three regional commands.
Senior officials are putting the final touches on a plan that is to be presented to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by the end of this month.
After meetings in Washington in September, Sao Tome and Principe’s President Fradique de Menezes was quoted by the Sapa news agency as saying the United States may put the future possible Africa Command in his country.
But Pentagon officials cannot confirm that, and say it is far too early to speculate on the location of a command that has not even been formally proposed yet. They also note that all but one of the existing regional commands are based in the United States.
source: voa
Condor1 - yes, you're right. There are so many messages at the end of the day, and I'm sure other posters are busy and scan the titles, so I had to come up with some key words that explains quickly what the article was about..... So the title, I chose those words......
As for the article not mentioning EO, you need to read it again. Did you see this phrase, "“The money was sent to Atiku and another associate, Emeka Offor and it involved about $180 million.”
Sure the article could be old but it was dated 10/4/06. If you go back and look at all my posts, 80% are articles I find and post. It's that simple.
ND9
I'm just posted articles last night that mentioned Emeka Offor. It's that simple. It's up to you to read them and draw your own conclusions.
I'm long and strong on ERHC.
ND9
Nigerian VP & Emeka Offor accused of taking $180M
Etete accuses Atiku, Fasawe of massive corruption
By Jide Ajani, Political Editor
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
ABUJA—CHIEF Dan Etete, Petroleum Resources Minister in the Sani Abacha regime yesterday accused Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his business associate, Otunba Johnson Oyewole Fasawe, of forcefully taking over Oil Prospecting Lease, OPL, 245, belonging to MALABU OIL, against laid down procedures, and engaging in massive corruption.
Malabu Oil used to be owned by Chief Etete until, according to him, the Vice President, Chief Fasawe and their Italian business partners seized 50% interest in the company.
Chief Etete spoke yesterday on the African Independent Television, AIT.
But in a swift reaction the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation dismissed the charges of corruption against the Vice President and threatened to go to court.
The Etete interview was broadcast twice yesterday first at 9am and again at 3pm.
Etete, alleged that Vice President Atiku and one Gabriel Volpi, identified as the Managing Director of Intels Services, Port Harcourt, and two other Italians first demanded 60% interest in the company otherwise the licence would be revoked.
He said the “first attempt crystalised when the trio of Volpi, Beruschi and Berger came to France, with the power of attorney to act on behalf of the Vice President to hold talks with me as a consultant for MALABU OIL.
“At that meeting, they told me that their outfit, based on instructions and acting on behalf of the Vice President, would want 60% of OPL 245.
“They also made it clear to me that that was the only way we could do business.
“But as consultant to MALABU OIL, and confronted with this vicious approach to business, MALABU OIL, decided to go for peace and we agreed to the 50% proposal.
“However, at some other point in time, we were confronted with some form of money transfer.
“At that time, MALABU OIL had the opportunity of paying in batches or on a pro rata basis and the company paid Two million and forty thousand Dollars.
“Because of the introduction of SHELL into the entire business, SHELL was expected to pay a sum of $17, 960,000.
“Unfortunately, and because of the way SHELL operates in so many countries of the world, the company paid that amount to the Directorate of Petroleum Resources, DPR, but for whatever reasons, the money was never paid into the bank.
“For a period of three months, the money was kept and was not paid into the bank. And after the three month period, the money was not cashable.It could not be cashed. “Now, what sort of company would pay such an amount of money and it can not be cashed.
“Even as we talk now, the matter is in court but SHELL has refused to pay the sum of $500 million which it had been ordered to pay.
“As for the Vice President, there was a time when a meeting was scheduled for the Vice President and myself somewhere in the south of France.
“We held the meeting on a yacht belonging to the former Yugoslav leader, Tito.
“Volpi, Atiku’s business partner and associate gave a very useful speech as a businessman.
“He then left Vice President |Abubakar and myself and I asked him pointedly whether his boss (President Obasanjo) was involved in all the deals we’re talking about and he said 'of course that how do I think all these would have happened if his boss was not involved.
“But it was a lie", Etete said, adding “for instance, Intels, where he said Vice President Abubakar has 20% stake, was alleged to have sold a waterfront property to some foreigners for $2million.
“There was another instance where some huge sums of monies were transferred to the Vice President. The documents are here and those who sent the documents to me, I’ve never met them before, they just sent it to me.
“The money was sent to Atiku and another associate, Emeka Offor and it involved about $180 million.”
Etete, who made it clear that he was ready for whatever was coming, however, charged that both Atiku and his associates, as well as SHELL should not do anything that would injure his person both socially and physically as he was ready to take on all comers.