Angola, one of the poorest places on Earth, is an oil industry darling

In recent years, Angola has become the fastest growing source of oil supplies to the United States. By 2010, West African producers will account for one of every three new barrels pumped around the world. By 2015, the United States will import a quarter of its oil from Africa, up from 15 percent today.

Angola’s promise stems from a string of big discoveries more than 100 miles, or 160 kilometers, from the coast, which have propelled this country’s oil production up tenfold since the mid-1970s to 1.5 million barrels a day last year. Angola should reach two million barrels in 2008 and 2.6 million barrels by 2011, the equivalent of Kuwait’s output.
But Angola is finding itself at the crossroads of today’s geopolitics of energy. It has become the latest set in the global rivalry played out between Western, Russian, and Chinese oil companies. This year, it also joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has been paring global supplies to keep prices from falling below $50 a barrel.

China has identified Angola as a promising source in its rush for energy resources, bestowing billions in loans and development aid in return for favorable treatment to its oil interests.

The government of Angola understands the significance of this new relationship, which can help offset the demands of Western donors pressing it to improve the accountability of its oil sector. Last year, Angola moved ahead of Saudi Arabia as the largest supplier of oil to China.

There is no guarantee that West Africa will end up being a more stable supplier than the Middle East has been. Just look at Nigeria, where a quarter of the country’s production, or about 600,000 barrels a day, has been cut for nearly two years because of violence in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. The unrest stems from years of neglect, mismanagement and corruption by both the Nigerian authorities and oil companies.

International Herald Tribune