Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil

by John Ghazvinian

Book Overview

Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil, extracting it hadn't seemed worth the effort and risk until recently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151011389
• ISBN13: 9780151011384
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Riveting in-depth look at African oil

_Untapped_ by John Ghazvinian is a riveting in-depth look at the rising importance of African oil. In recent years formerly poor countries, of little importance in the global economy, were suddenly awash in oil money (one, Equatorial Guinea used to be of so little importance to the U.S. that the American embassy had been closed; now it was about to reopen). The U.S. was soon expected to get as much as 25% of its imported oil from sub-Saharan Africa and China was becoming increasingly reliant on African crude. Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries to discover the reasons behind the boom and what this means for Africa and the world. So why is African oil booming? Some experts believe that at best Africa only has 10% of the world's proven oil resources, so why the many billions of dollars spent on investment there? Much African oil (particularly offshore oil in the Gulf of Guinea, the 90-degree bend in the west coast of Africa) is of high quality, crude that is "light" (viscous) and "sweet" (low in sulfur), making it cheaper to refine than Middle Eastern crude. Not only is it cheaper to refine, it is less environmental costly to refine. African crude is also easier and cheaper to transport. Most of Africa is surrounded by water, which cuts transport-related risks and costs; indeed offshore oil from the Gulf of Guinea is already well-positioned for quick and safe transport to major markets. Little need for any expensive, politically-difficult to negotiate, and vulnerable pipelines such as what are needed to bring Caspian crude to market. In the few cases were pipelines are needed they often only have to run through only one or maybe two countries. Another reason for the attractiveness of Africa is that African nations generally present a more favorable contractual environment for oil companies to operate in. Unlike in Middle Eastern nations where state-owned oil companies often have a monopoly on oil exploration, production, and distribution, most sub-Saharan African nations operate on production-sharing agreements (or PSAs), an arrangement in which foreign oil companies are awarded licenses, assume all up-front costs for exploration and production, and share the revenues with the nation in question only after initial costs have been recouped. Yet another reason is that with the exception of Nigeria (though others may soon join), sub-Saharan African nations were not members of OPEC (and thus not subject to their strict limits on oil output). The "most attractive of all the attributes of Africa's oil boom" has been that most new oil discoveries have been made in deepwater reserves, many miles from populated land (or indeed land at all), meaning that they are pretty much isolated from the dangers of civil war, insurrection, sabotage, or banditry (an increasing problem for oil production from the Niger Delta in Nigeria, which the author covers in depth, revealing such innovative crimes as "illegal bunkering," "local bunkerin

First Noble Truth: All Life Is Suffering

If you are a believer in "peak oil" this book will support your belief. If you think oil is a type of cultural poison this work will support your view. The author spent considerable time in West Africa trying to learn about how the confluence of the developed world's need for hydrocarbon and the small West African countries need for money flows together. As you journey along with the author on his quest you will be exposed to the well documented corruption that happens because of oil money pouring into small countries. You can see very clearly how that corruption leads to wars, kidnappings and unsavory ways of life. You will learn just how secretive "big oil" is and how their managers and professional workers live in West Africa which the author contrasts starkly against the lives of local Africans. I learned a lot about what a "honey pot" West African oil is for all of the world's oil companies. Before reading this book I didn't know the difference between Guinea, Equatorial Guinea or New Guinea. Now I do. The author's categorization of the three types of oil companies buzzing around the sweet oil pot are:National Oil Companies(Petrobras),major International Oil Companies(Exxon) and small Independent Oil Companies like Hyperdynamics (HDY) a small Huston based software company turned oil explorationist. Hyperdynamics it turns out won the biggest off shore oil concession in all of West Africa. The concession became a formal contract in September of 2006. It is now exploring for oil in offshore Guinea. If you want to see a glimpse of how important oil is to the world read this book. I had mixed feelings when I finished reading the book. Nevertheless I bought stock in Hyperdynamics (HDY) and intend to give to their Friends of Guinea fund. Excellent clear writing.

Time to devour some good non-fiction

I recently went to Mr. Ghazvinian's book signing in DC and I have to say, he speaks as well as he writes. The best part about a good non-fiction book on a unique topic is that it a.) is interesting and b.) makes you want to read more about the subject. Not only does Ghazvinian capture the reader's attention with a long well written "article" on this very timely subject but he does it in a way where you want to continue learning about the issue. I found myself so involved with this book that I wanted to go out and get books off the suggested reading list in the back (great idea - I wish all non-fiction had this!). People will no doubt enjoy reading this book on a very important topic in the neo-colonialism of the African continent.

Good information and good writing

The first thing that struck me about this book is that Ghazvinian has a gift for writing. In a market swamped with books that exemplify poor writing, that's saying a lot. But it's not the only reason to read this book. Oil is one of those topics that is frequently abused with misdirection, misinformation, and misconceptions. So, I grudgingly agreed to read and review this book. After reading it, I though of a new twist on an old adage. Don't judge a book by its topic. I have to give this book high marks, all the way around. One of the common misconceptions about oil is that most of it is in the Middle East and Central America. The truth is that Africa has vast amounts of oil that we are only beginning to discover. Ghazvinian provides some startling statistics on the offshore reserves alone. Another common misconception is that any country with large oil reserves will also have great wealth. Actually, oil can--and often does--impoverish a country. Ghazvinian explains why, and provides detailed accounts of how this actually happened in case after case. The devastating effects of mismanagement following the discovery of oil, are unfortunately, the lead story of every country on the west coast of Africa. The United States now imports most of its oil. Most people do not realize that if Americans made a few minor adjustments, the United States could be a net exporter of oil. Instead, Americans drive gas guzzlers and take unnecessary trips. This boosts the international demand for oil, and that demand is now escalating even faster as China and India ramp up their economies. Even fewer people realize that the cost of extracting the oil to meet the demand goes far beyond the cost of equipment and oil company salaries. Everybody in an "oil rich" nation wants the "free ride" that purportedly comes with having oil in one's backyard. Tiny-minded "leaders" of oil-rich nations engage in what economists call "rent-seeking behavior," which leads to a distorted and counterproductive attitude toward managing every aspect of the nation's economy and resources. This results in a great deal of tension and illicit profiteering, plus the rise of a parasite class that makes its host quite ill. The abuses, pain, and suffering don't have to happen, but they do. Ghazvinian doesn't propose any solutions, which is something I commend him on. He doesn't pretend to be an expert. Instead, he describes exactly what he sees going on and digs a bit deeper to give the reader the important background information so that understanding and proper perspective are possible. No help from politicians The extraction, transportation, and distribution of oil has become highly politicized. Unfortunately, this means politicians are heavily involved and that is never a good thing. For example, consider the USA. We have 435 Congressmen drawing nearly $200,000 a year each in salaries. They are completely out of touch with 90% of the people they "represent," partly because of the enormous in

Excellent Writing On A Timely Topic

I regret having to say this at the outset. I suspect most readers browsing a bookstore's shelves will look at the title of this book and simply pass it by. And this is unfortunate for two reasons. First, because, like it or not, the production of oil is of utmost concern to the world and especially the United States and Europe. Second, the book itself, "Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil," by John Ghazvinian, is extremely well written, as well as vitally informative. Anyone who keeps up on current events knows that the situation in the Middle East is growing increasingly unstable and violent. For a long time, this area has also been the most significant source of oil for the Western world. And the West, after all, literally runs on oil. We may not like our dependence on foreign oil, but we do have a very personal attachment to all the goodies that petroleum products bring into our lives. Short of a concerted conservation effort on the part of the public, or a relaxation on the part of committed environmentalists to their anti-drilling policies, or (heaven help us!) an extremely large tax on gasoline and other petro-products to discourage consumers, little will probably be or can be done to resolve the current crisis. So, for the most part, we will remain dependent on foreign oil for the foreseeable future. Ghazvinian, in his book, takes our focus off of the Middle East and forces us to look at Africa as a source of oil. (Africa, in this context, is the area south of the Sahara Desert.) It has been known for a long time, according to Ghazvinian, that Africa is rich in oil. The problem has been the cost of tapping it and bringing it into production. In order to determine what is going on in Africa today regarding this quest for oil, Ghazvinian journeyed through twelve African countries interviewing all sorts of people from warlords to religious missionaries, from oil-workers to corporate executives, from petroleum scientists to just plain ordinary men and women. His journey is sometimes fraught with danger, often includes a touch of the humorous, is unusually enlightening, and thanks to Ghazvinian's eye for detail, always informative. But why should we focus on Africa? And why now? Why the interest and why the hype that is now being displayed by some observers, including politicians as well as those in the oil industry itself? Ghazvinian provides this clue: "The answer has very little to do with geology. Africa's significance as an oil 'play' ... lies beyond the number of barrels that may or may not be buried under its cretaceous rock. Instead, what makes the African oil boom interesting to energy-security strategists in both Washington and Europe (and, increasingly, Beijing) is a series of serendipitous and unrelated factors that, together, tell a story of unfolding opportunity." The author then goes on to note numerous advantages, "attractive attributes," in favor of African oil, concluding that "African oil is cheaper, safer, and more