From the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Guinea.

cork | anti-capitalism | event notice Saturday August 26, 2006 21:14 by Joe Moore - Socialist Workers Party mapuche at eircom dot net 087-2994796

Oil, The New Scramble foe Africa.

The Cork SWP will host a public forum in the Victoria Hotel, Patrick St., Cork at 8.00pm on Friday 6th October, entitled "From the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Guinea. Oil , The New Scramble for Africa."
Speaker, Philip Ikurusi, Niger Delta activist.

The Scramble for African Oil.

After decades of Cold War, when Africa was simply viewed as a convenient pawn on the global chessboard, and a further decade of neglect in the 1990s, the African continent has now become a vital arena of strategic and geopolitical competition not only for the US but also for China, India, Japan and other new emerging powers. The main reason for this is quite simple; Africa is the final frontier as far as the world's supplies of energy (both oil and natural gas ) is concerned.

In the next 10 to 15 years, most of the new oil entering the world market will come African fields because it is only in Africa that substantial new fields have been found and brought into production.

Since 1980, the US have been officially committed ( in the words of President Jimmy Carter, which have become known as the "Carter Doctrine") to the use of "any means necessary, including military force" to ensure the free flow of Persian Gulf oil.

Now the "Carter Doctrine" has been extended to Africa. "African oil is of strategic national interest to us and it will increase and become more important to us as we go forward", Walter Kansteiner, the former US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, declared during a visit to Nigeria in July 2002.

Not surprisingly, the largest chunks of US aid to Africa are going to Angola and Nigeria, Africa's two leading oil suppliers to the US. Total US security aid to these countries in 2002-2004 ammounted to approximately $300m, a substantial increase over the previous three year period.

In October 2004, the US European Command (EURCOM) hosted a three day Gulf of Guinea maritime security conference in Naples, Italy (head quarters of the US Sixth Fleet). Participants included naval leaders from Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo Brazaville, Sao Tome and Togo along with personnel from the US, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

It is clear that as the security of Middle Eastern oil becomes more uncertain, the Imperialist Powers are setting their sights on the Gulf of Guinea.