Africa, pleased and tortured by oil

Over the past year, African oil has leapt into international attention as world demand increases and price hikes. Along with ever enlarging exploration, extraction and sale, African producers, while gaining considerable profits, also see a series of problems such as environmental pollution, farmland damage and grain shortage. So, people here always show mixed feelings when talking about oil.

With a proven reserve over 95 billion barrels, about 8 percent of the world total, Africa is the world third largest oil producing area following the Middle East and Latin America. Currently, its daily production of crude oil exceeds 8 million barrels, about 11 percent of the global amount and is expected to reach 15 percent by 2020. In the coming decade, oil production from this continent will rise sharply, with a daily output expected to reach 13 million barrels.

Xinhua