Africa's booming oil and natural gas exploration and production : national security implications for the United States and China

Format not distributed to depository libraries

"December 2013."

Includes bibliographical references

Introduction. Reasons for optimism about Africa oil and gas potential -- Good governance in the African energy sector and avoidance of the resource curse -- I. In the beginning : African oil and continental drift theory -- II. A geological map of Africa. Major country-level trends in Africa's geological sub-regions -- III. African oil and gas production and reserves. Major African producers in a larger global context -- Africa boosting oil and gas reserves -- Africa's competitive landscape becomes more crowded : Asian NOCs, frontier independents join traditional supermajors -- IV. Globalization of the world natural gas market and Africa's role in it -- The present : Africa's natural gas production and reserves focused on North and West Africa -- East Africa and East Asia : a new "golden age" for global trade in natural gas? -- Future wild card : Africa's unconventional gas supplies -- V. Is Africa still relevant to U.S. energy security? -- VI. Africa and China's energy security : an increasingly important source of diversified supply. China's success in marginal or politically sensitive oil fields -- The absolute and relative scale of China's investment in Africa's upstream oil and gas industry -- Is China's investment in Africa's oil and gas sectors good or bad? -- Does Africa benefit from Chinese energy investment? -- China and rest of Asia : biggest winners from African energy expansion -- VII. African energy and China's emerging two-ocean military strategy

Two key long-term energy trends are shifting the strategic balance between the United States and China, the world's superpower rivals in the 21st century: first, a domestic boom in U.S. shale oil and gas is dramatically boosting America's energy security; second, the frenetic and successful search for hydrocarbons in Africa is making it an increasingly crucial element in China's energy diversification strategy. America's increasing energy security and China's increased dependence on energy imports from Africa and the Middle East until well past 2040 despite its own shale discoveries will make Beijing's own increasing energy insecurity be felt even more acutely, pushing the People's Liberation Army to accelerate adoption of a "two ocean" military strategy that includes an enduring presence in the Indian Ocean as well as the Pacific Ocean