Angola’s oil province on difficult quest for peace

Angola’s rebel province of Cabinda is on a difficult search for a settlement to end decades of separatist fighting in this patch of land that is the lifeline of the country’s oil boom.

A peace overture from the Angolan government is being received with skepticism — although not rejected — in the poor northern province where offshore oil generates billions of dollars to Luanda’s coffers.

..Cabindans blame oil for their woes, saying that were it not for the offshore wealth, the Angolan government would not be seeking to subdue the province militarily.

But United States petroleum giant Chevron which pumps about 430 000 barrels per day off Cabinda’s shores says its presence in the region, established in 1954, predates the province’s current-day troubles stemming from the 1975 independence.

Mail & Guardian