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Matières Premières > Oil and Gas Twenty percent of world oil consumption to come from Africa in 2010 - September 2003 Nearly 20 percent of global oil consumption will be sourced from sub-Saharan Africa by 2010, according to a senior ChevronTexaco official. According to 2002 figures, Africa accounts for 11 percent of total
oil production with Nigeria, the world's seventh largest producer,
and Angola leading the way. Leading oil multinationals, including
Total and Royal Dutch Shell, recently announced projects that will
help increase Nigeria's production from the current 2.2 million barrels
per day (bpd). Shell's $700 million Bonga production and storage
vessel should build up to 220,000 bpd during 2004 after arriving
in Nigeria later this year. According to Angola's head of licensing
and exploration, Alfredo Rafael, Angola's production could treble
to nearly three million bpd by 2008. It is predicted that in 2004,
they will exceed the one million mark. Africa's mammoth oil project - August
2003 When production gets up to full speed next year, this one project alone is expected to account for 45-50% of Chad's national budget. The Chadian government has already welcomed the first flow of oil from wells in the south of the country. It will take the oil two months to travel the length of the pipeline, with the first oil tanker not expected to load until the autumn. The income from the oil should provide annual revenues of $80m for Chad and $20m for Cameroon. But international charities are already concerned that, as in the oil-rich countries of Nigeria and Angola, the money earned will not filter through to poor people. Consultations on the project began ten years ago, when the entire 1,070 km course of the pipeline was assessed by experts travelling on foot. Almost 1,000 village-level meetings were held, including 165 consultations with Pygmies in Cameroon, and the pipeline's original route was altered 20 times. But the giant project, funded by Exxon Mobil and the World Bank, has been dogged by controversy from the start. In 1999, Anglo-Dutch Shell and France's Elf pulled out of the project without explanation. The World Bank provided $140m (£90.2m) of the $4bn needed to develop the oil fields in southern Chad and to build the 1,050 km pipeline to an offshore oil-loading facility off Cameroon's coast. It is the largest US investment project in Africa. In 2000, the government admitted diverting $4m of the pipeline's investment funds to buy weapons for use in its war against northern rebels. The construction of the pipeline has also been strongly criticised by environmentalists. Chad was recently ranked the most corrupt of 21 African countries in a survey on good governance criteria by Transparency International. And the International Monetary Fund last month demanded early repayment of a loan from Chad, saying the government provided false information in order to get the money in the first place. To counter scepticism over how the oil revenues will be managed, Chad has passed a law under which 80% of the income will be used to finance education, health, environment, water and rural development. Another 10% of the income must be deposited in an international bank for the benefit of future generations, while a further 5% will be used to benefit the local population of the Doba basin, where the oil is drilled. But despite the financial safeguards in place in Chad, charities remain sceptical that the project can help overcome the extreme poverty facing many of the country's eight million people. Background Information West Africa is regarded as one of the hottest oil properties on the map according to the industry experts and is set to become a key player within the international oil and gas arena as investor interest gathers momentum. A string of high profile discoveries offshore made by Elf, Chevron and Exxon, have confirmed the rich potential of the region and Africa's contribution to world oil and gas output is now rising annually. In fact the continent now provides around ten per cent of the world's oil but this is expected to grow steadily in the years ahead. Gradual economic liberalisation provides further opportunities in the downstream sector through the deregulation and privatisation of state refineries and fuel distribution centres, encouraging constant attention from interested parties as well as a need for up to date information. As natural gas consumption continues to grow and shows no signs of slowing, LNG is increasingly playing an important role to meet global energy demands. Associations Association of British Offshore Industries - ABOI ABOI is the authoritative Trade Association dedicated to representing British companies that are involved in all aspects of the offshore and onshore oil, gas and petrochemical industries. ABOI exists to encourage and assist its members in securing business opportunities both in the UK and overseas. ABOI also takes the major role as sponsor, with DTI support, of British groups at overseas oil and gas exhibitions and Trade Missions. British Trade International - Infrastructure and Energy Projects As an arm of the UK Government, the IEP is responsible for actively encouraging UK contractors and suppliers to be innovative and competitive and to be effective in marketing their capability worldwide. IEP also helps UK oil and gas exploration and production companies develop their relationship overseas. Energy Industries Council The Energy Industries Council is the largest body of its kind in Britain which services the needs of the energy industry, the members of which range from engineering contractors, to manufacturers, suppliers, financial and legal organisations involved in a range of activities in the oil, gas, petrochemical and chemical industries; power generation, transmission and distribution, nuclear waste treatment and storage; environmental protection; coal processing and water; waste water and sewage processing. United Kingdom West Africa Action Group - UKWAAG UKWAAG is a UK marketing initiative formed through a partnership between the UK Government and Industry to jointly promote UK capabilities and excellence, focusing initially on the oil and gas sector in West Africa. Encouraged by recent successful smaller joint initiatives, the Group's aims are to gather industry resources and lead a coordinated marketing effort with the principal objective of increasing market share through awareness of existing expertise. |
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