Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil - Paperback

by John Ghazvinian (Author)

Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil, extracting it hadn't seemed worth the effort and risk until recently. But as the geopolitics of oil shift, with the price of Middle Eastern crude skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. But what does this giddy new oil boom mean--for American energy security, the world, and Africans themselves? John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries--from Sudan to Congo to Angola--talking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformed--not necessarily for the better--by the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane work of narrative investigative journalism that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from one of the world's energy hot spots.

This unflinching report from the front lines of the new oil rush reveals:

• The Resource Curse: Why the discovery of black gold often leads to poverty, corruption, and conflict, transforming the lives of ordinary people for the worse.
• The New Scramble for Africa: A firsthand look at the fierce competition between America, China, and Europe for control over Africa's untapped reserves.
• Oil Politics: Candid interviews with a stunning range of players--from warlords and bandits to oil executives and activists--who are shaping the continent's future.
• On-the-Ground Reporting: A gripping travelogue through twelve African nations, from the swamps of the Niger Delta to the gleaming corporate offices of the world's largest oil companies.

Front Jacket

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 technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. Already the United States imports more of its oil from Africa than from Saudi Arabia, and China, too, looks to the continent for its energy security.
What does this giddy new oil boom mean for America, for the world, for Africans themselves? To find out, John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries from Sudan to Congo to Angola talking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformed not necessarily for the better by the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the world s newest energy hot spot."

Back Jacket

Perceptive Untapped drills home the point ... that a thoughtful strategy to lift the neglected bottom billion must compete against the global oil giants going about their business -- and the one billion people in countries at the top, and the four billion in the middle, whose consumption habits stand behind these multinationals.--The New York Times

With the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, Africa a region long known to be rich in oil has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. But what does this giddy new oil boom mean for America, for the world, for Africans themselves? To find out, John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries from Sudan to Congo to Angola talking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformed not necessarily for the better by the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the world s newest energy hot spot. "Like the cars that might one day make the Western world a bit less reliant on crude oil, Untapped is a hybrid; part travelogue, part analysis and part lament. It is also well timed." The Economist

"[A] deftly reported book ... "--GQ JOHN GHAZVINIAN has a doctorate in history from Oxford. He has written for Newsweek, the Nation, Time Out New York, and other publications. Born in Iran and raised in London and Los Angeles, he currently lives in Philadelphia, where he teaches in the Critical Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

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