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GABON-EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Neighbours to explore jointly for oil in disputed waters


1 / 1Corisco Bay dispute will not stop offshore explorationShowing image 1 of 1
addis ababa, 7 July 2004 (IRIN) - The leaders of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have pledged to explore jointly for oil in disputed offshore waters while their quarrel over three small islands in Corisco Bay is settled by UN mediation.

Presidents Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and Omar Bongo of Gabon made the announcement on Tuesday after signing a memorandum of understanding in the presence of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

The two West African leaders told journalists afterwards that in a bid to fight poverty in their countries, they had put aside their simmering disagreement over the Corisco Bay islands. These lie just north of the Gabonese capital Libreville near the border with the continental territory of Equatorial Guinea.

The dispute dates back to 1972 and has prevented oil companies from carrying out a full exploration of the surrounding offshore waters.

Although both countries have agreed to joint exploration, the issues over sovereignty of their maritime boundaries will still have to be resolved. The leaders said mediation would continue to delimit and then demarcate the territory.

"We need to solve this conflict so we have no further problems between us," Obiang said

"The main problems are the resources of the sub-soil, the oil. We have to solve this problem of the resources in a very positive fashion," he added. "The most important question here is how to fight against poverty with the resources both states have, how can we better use these resources to fight against poverty."

Welcoming the commitment of both leaders to resolve the dispute peacefully, Annan said: "This is a continent with lots of conflicts and I think this is an example to all the leaders that differences can be resolved peacefully," he said.

Gabon and Equatorial Guinea had appealed to the UN in 2003 to help resolve their dispute, which arose from different interpretations of maps dating back to 1900.

Annan has appointed Yves Fortier, a former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, as his Special Adviser and mediator on the issue.

Both countries have enjoyed the oil bonanza of the past decade.

Gabon, whose oilfields are mainly operated by the French multinational Total, is a mature oil producer with an output of 250,000 barrels per day that is currently declining.

But Equatorial Guinea, which only discovered oil in 1995, is expanding its offshore oil and gas production rapidly and has overtaken Gabon, with a daily output of around 350,000 barrels.

According to the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), which manages the CFA franc currency, used by both countries, Equatorial Guinea has also jumped ahead of Gabon in terms of national prosperity. Its 500,000 people now enjoy a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita income of nearly US$7,000.

Gabon's 1.2 million inhabitants have a GDP per capita of less than $5,000 -- although that is still 10 times the average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Corisco Bay dispute is the latest of several border quarrels to arise in Africa, where hopes of finding oil have encouraged both sides to dig in their heels.

Nigeria has been arguing with Cameroon for years over the disputed Bakassi peninsula, which is also thought to control oil-rich offshore waters. Nigeria has agreed in principle to hand over the peninsula, but the two countries have yet to demarcate their territorial waters.

afam4eva: I hope you know the disadvantages of polygamy.

it happened in equitorial guinea and Gabon when they had oil land issues and it is working out good

The leaders of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have signed an agreement to draw up an accord on joint oil exploration offshore

why cant both groups jointly explore the area?
the bakassi and the south western cameroonians

CAMEROONPRIDE: off topic go pleasure yourself somewhere else

https://www.nairaland.com/997422/bakassi-indigenes-threaten-return-back

if you wanna argue abt the bakassi come here

Zairois: I don't see the irony ya hmar naija axsanti

bleached out ni-ggaz

then why are you on a Nigerian forum?

because congo forum will be quite boring and ya all wil be talking about about the latest bleaching creams

Zairois: Nothing well at least for me

coming from someone thats from congo! irony!

CAMEROONPRIDE: lol ...by the way what is the name of the Cameroonian forum who banned you?

why u wanna go look for trouble . .i like the fact you guys are speaking french. .so u can remain as french speaking puppets

CAMEROONPRIDE: lol if i answer it will make me look cocky lmao ...i don't know who is better or worst.... tell me...

we are pacific /gentle/etc Cameroon pride just trolling

say it very nice but with a wicked and manipulative mind behind the niceness

CAMEROONPRIDE: Nigerians are damn cocky lmao....anyway CAMEROONPRIDE all day every day

are cameroonians any better
I have also met arrogant cameroonians
it seems you guys hide under your gentle or passive nature

Smoothcrimson: You Ugly Nigerian Bakassi's should stay in your own country and get off Ghana!!!

All the generator fumes in your f-ucked up country are messing with your minds. You add nothing to Ghana and are ugly as hell!!!

170 million ANTS who would have sex with anything!!

Just get out of my face!!!

shldnt you be more careful after they banned you

Nayah: lol runaway from a country means you were born and raised there honey...and this is unfortunately NOT my case but yes I try to go 3 times a year because of my different project and as for my family, my father is retiring out there, so yes dear I'm quite proud of Cameroon and what it can offer and I am not ashamed to tell you this: Next time inform you more that's your main problem you used to jump on conclusions

i am also a proud of being Nigerian. we all have our mentality strength that makes us feel better or superior to our fellow Africans unfortunately all Africans do

its either we are peaceful you are not
we are rich= you are less richer or poor
central Africans are better than West Africans
east Africans say yea we might be poor but prettier than the rest
southern African vs the whole Africa

Nayah: This is their right! like the right to Nigerians to say they're a great country. A great doesn't mean PERFECT. As for elections as you underline previously I think the case of France is a good one, they call themselves democracy while the whole power is concentrated in the executive one. Sarkosy policy has showed it when it comes to medias, which were totally controlled during his rulling. I can't say Cameroon is a perfect country I know our weakness espcially politically speaking but in a discussion all is not BLACK or WHITE, we need to balance and see many elements that's what you don't do Onila and that's the reason I partially disagree with your statements on that.

I am sure you also ran away from great cameroon Africans and fake/cheap pride

but hey I guess yr family members work in the cameroonian govt=who enjoy the peace and money

CAMEROONPRIDE: we have African mentality like someone said here stop giving us the mentality of those invaders.....come on ..i do not claim german something or french something both invaded my lands my Ethnicity was great and known by everybody we assimilated the entire region(Central Africa and west Africa and South Africa)..we rocked ..now we are divided

many cameroonians always brag about how peaceful and great their country iz when many cameroonians are running away from the so called peaceful country

I love Nigeria but still admit is crap what is there to be proud with all our oil wealth when many Nigerians are walking thru the desert to go to libya or egypt just to escape to europe

nothing to be proud off

I would rather have elections in which a new leader is elected every four years (eight year max for relections) than have one person rule me for life. At least you stand a better chance at electing a good leader and someone with new ideas than have some grandfather with old ideas rule you since 1982, as in Cameroon, or since 1969, as in Libya.

Ghana has shown us the way. If Ghanaians and botswana can do it why cant we Nigerians be like them