That gas you're pumping into your car comes from the Middle East, right? Well, maybe not. America is now looking to Africa for its oil. West Africa is awash in the stuff, much to the relief of the Bush administration. But there's a dirty little open secret: countries like Nigeria that have sold billions of barrels to Western oil companies have gotten poorer, not richer. And oil money spawns civil wars, environmental damage, and HIV/AIDs.
So chalk up African oil exploration as an unmitigated disaster? Maybe not. In an experimental project, ExxonMobil is trying to use some oil revenues to ease crushing poverty in Chad. The venture pairs good business and good works, they say. Proponents say it's Africa's greatest hope; critics claim it's all about profits and PR.
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Samuel Nguiffo, director, Center for Environment and Development in Yaoundi, Cameroon
Ken Silverstein, Staff Writer, The Los Angeles Times
Donald Norland, former U.S. ambassador to Chad
Terry Lynn Karl, Senior Fellow, Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and author, "The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States."
