ABOARD THE BENGUELA BELIZE PLATFORM, Angola The behemoth rises from the Atlantic Ocean seabed, testament to Africa's growing importance to an energy-hungry world fearful of its dependence on the explosive Middle East, and to Angola's growing importance within Africa.
Chevron Corp.'s US$2.3 billion Benguela Belize platform, dwarfing the Statue of Liberty at 1,680 feet (512 meters), is the third such tower built in the world. It is the first outside of the Gulf of Mexico, and an innovation in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, where floating platforms long have held sway. Drilling some months ago drew the first crude into the structure.
The Gulf of Guinea — if you look at a map of the continent picture a face, it's the area at the back of the neck — encompasses waters from all of sub-Saharan Africa's oil producers except South Africa and is a magnet for investment where competition for influence is fierce between European, U.S., Chinese, Indian and other Asian interests.
This year, Angola overtook Saudi Arabia as the leading source of crude oil for China. China's president and prime minister visited Africa this year, as did the leaders of Russia, Iran, Bolivia and Venezuela.
In just a matter of years, said Jim Blackwell, the Angola-based managing director of Chevron's southern Africa operations, "Africa has become an important part of the world's oil supply, drawing more focus from governments like the United States and China."
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ABOARD THE BENGUELA BELIZE PLATFORM, Angola The behemoth rises from the Atlantic Ocean seabed, testament to Africa's growing importance to an energy-hungry world fearful of its dependence on the explosive Middle East, and to Angola's growing importance within Africa.
