Why is China chasing African oil?
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Delegates from 48 African countries are attending the Nov. 3-5 China-Africa ministerial summit in Beijing.
Here is an overview of China's developing energy links with Africa:
GROWING DEMAND:
- In 2003, China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest oil consumer after the United States.
- China says it will build up emergency strategic oil reserves of about 100 million barrels (16.2 million cubic metres) over the next five years.
- In October 2006, it confirmed it had begun pumping crude into tanks near its largest refinery, Zhenhai, in eastern Zhejiang province.
- China plans to complete tanks comprising the rest of its first phase -- in Aoshan in Zhejiang, Huangdao in Shandong, and Dalian in Liaoning province -- by the end of 2008.
AFRICAN OIL'S GROWING IMPORTANCE:
- A third of China's total crude imports comes from Angola, Sudan, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Nigeria.
- Bilateral trade between China and Africa is projected at $50 billion this year, and China has more than $6 billion of investments there, mostly in energy and infrastructure projects.
WAR-RAVAGED ANGOLA THE TOP SUPPLIER:
- Angola, sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer after Nigeria, narrowly overtook Saudi Arabia to become China's top crude oil supplier in February 2006.
- From January to September 2006, Angola supplied 18,232,427 tonnes of crude, while Saudi Arabia supplied 17,998,17.
- Congo, China's sixth biggest supplier, sent 4,257,783 tonnes in the same period.
SECURITY AND EFFICIENCY DRIVE:
- Many analysts argue that China has overpaid for some of its oil investments. They say that shipping supplies from Africa or Latin America does not reduce China's energy vulnerability, since its navy is not the dominant power on the world's seas.
- In recent years, China has championed energy efficiency, passing new laws to cut wasteful consumption.
- It is backing domestic hydroelectric, nuclear and wind-power schemes, and attempting to curb growth in consumption of the plentiful, but polluting, coal that provides two thirds of its energy.
Sources: Reuters, The Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/publication/9557
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