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http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1031119894650&p=1012571727172 Financial Times October 3, 2002 Nigeria and Angola meet over US military plans By Antony Goldman in London and James Lamont in Johannesburg -The two countries together produce 3m barrels of oil a day and have attracted billions of dollars in US investment in recent years. The region is increasingly regarded as a strategic energy reserve by a US administration anxious to diversify its sources for oil imports away from the Middle East. General Carlton Fulford, deputy commander-in-chief, US European Command, visited Sao Tomé & Principe, an island cluster in the Atlantic midway between Nigeria and Angola, in July in connection with the proposed base. Nigeria and Angola, Africa's two biggest oil producers, will meet in Luanda, Angola's capital, on Friday to discuss shared concern over reports that the US is considering setting up a new military base in the region. Rilwanu Lukman, special adviser on oil to the Nigerian head of state and also president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will meet José Eduardo dos Santos, the Angolan leader, and senior members of his administration, officials in Mr Lukman's office said on Thursday. The two countries together produce 3m barrels of oil a day and have attracted billions of dollars in US investment in recent years. The region is increasingly regarded as a strategic energy reserve by a US administration anxious to diversify its sources for oil imports away from the Middle East. General Carlton Fulford, deputy commander-in-chief, US European Command, visited Sao Tomé & Principe, an island cluster in the Atlantic midway between Nigeria and Angola, in July in connection with the proposed base. He was welcomed by Fradique de Menezes, the country's president, who said such a facility would help protect Sao Tomé, one of the poorest countries, which has ambitions to build its own oil industry. "This will be good for São Tomé as it will ensure the future of the country in relation to those that are ambitious and are looking to come to the country when oil is extracted from our waters," said Mr Menezes. "It [the base] is at a pre- positioning stage. The aim would be [protection of] the Gulf of Guinea and oil interests. It would be handy to have a staging point," said Richard Cornwell, an analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies. Analysts also believe a military presence in São Tomé would assist US participation in regional peace-keeping operations. "Having a central Africa command would give the US a security presence in the area. There is a strategic interest with so much oil coming out of West Africa. But it may also be a reflection on the African Union and an acknowledgement that Africa is not up to peacekeeping. There is a shift in concern," said Ross Herbert, an analyst at the South African Institute of International Affairs. Walter Kansteiner, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, is expected to visit Gabon, another oil-producing African state, in the next few days. American defence officials have played down interest in establishing a permanent base in the region, however, saying their interests could be better served simply by having access rights to air and naval facilities. Relations between São Tomé and Nigeria have deteriorated recently after a delay in efforts to promote a new initiative to exploit oil reserves along their common maritime boundary. Mr Menezes has also questioned a number of controversial oil-related contracts signed by his predecessor. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
