*Ø* Blogmanac | Bush and Africa’s black gold
The Times - Although billed as an attempt to extend the hand of friendship to a neglected continent, President Bush’s five nation African safari is widely being seen as an effort to ensure US access to Africa’s burgeoning pot of black gold. Sub-Saharan Africa is enjoying an unprecedented oil exploration and production boom that is expected to transform the region from a modest producer to a key supplier over the next decade.
As head of a task force on future oil supplies, Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, predicted two years ago that the region would become the fastest-growing source of energy for America. But the scale of the region’s untapped resources has taken everyone by surprise.
The US already imports about 15 per cent of its annual oil requirements from the Gulf of Guinea. This is expected to exceed 25 per cent by 2015, significantly reducing America’s dependence on the volatile Middle East.
Source
The Times - Although billed as an attempt to extend the hand of friendship to a neglected continent, President Bush’s five nation African safari is widely being seen as an effort to ensure US access to Africa’s burgeoning pot of black gold. Sub-Saharan Africa is enjoying an unprecedented oil exploration and production boom that is expected to transform the region from a modest producer to a key supplier over the next decade.
As head of a task force on future oil supplies, Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, predicted two years ago that the region would become the fastest-growing source of energy for America. But the scale of the region’s untapped resources has taken everyone by surprise.
The US already imports about 15 per cent of its annual oil requirements from the Gulf of Guinea. This is expected to exceed 25 per cent by 2015, significantly reducing America’s dependence on the volatile Middle East.
Source
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