Angola between deep-water riches and human catastrophe

Oil companies are coming to the end of a long wait for three ultra-deep licences which many believe constitute the biggest prize on offer in Africa today. Sonangol. the state oil company, has confirmed that BP Amoco, Elf Aquitaine and Exxon will win operatorships of blocks 31, 32 and 33 respectively. However, there is still some uncertainty over the composition of the full contractor groups for each block - and, as FTAE reports below, there is some concern that operators will come under pressure to include shadowy new local companies in groups which will be committed to making massive investments.