Poisoned wells : the dirty politics of African oil / Nicholas Shaxson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shaxson, Nicholas.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Petroleum industry and trade--Political aspects--Africa.

Petroleum industry and trade.

Petroleum industry and trade--Moral and ethical aspects--Africa.

Petroleum industry and trade--Moral and ethical aspects.

Petroleum industry and trade--Political aspects.

Africa.

Physical Description:

viii, 280 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Summary:

Each week the oil and gas fields of sub-Saharan Africa produce well over a billion dollars' worth of oil, an amount that far exceeds development aid to the entire African continent. Yet the rising tide of oil money is not promoting stability and development, but is instead causing violence, poverty, and stagnation. It is also generating vast corruption that reaches deep into American and European economies. In "Poisoned Wells," Nicholas Shaxson exposes the root causes of this paradox of poverty from plenty, and explores the mechanisms by which oil causes grave instabilities and corruption around the globe. Shaxson is the only journalist who has had access to the key players in African oil, and is willing to make the connections between the problems of the developing world and the involvement of leading global corporations and governments.

Contents:

Introduction: A Paradox of Plenty in the New Gulf 1

1 Fela Kuti: How Things Fell Apart in the Oil Boom 9

2 Pedro Motu: A Morph to Another World 27

3 Abel Abraao: Wielding the Oil Weapon 41

4 Omar Bongo: Taking the Red Pill 63

5 Eva Joly: Elf Africaine and the Rabbit Warren 83

6 Andre Milongo: Golden Eggs 103

7 Obiang Nguema: What Caring Neighbors Do 121

8 Fradique de Menezes: Battening Down the Hatches 145

9 Arcadi Gaydamak: Between Global Borders 165

10 Dokubo-Asari: Corroding the Soul of a Nation 189

11 Global Witness: Hooligans and Rock Stars 209

Conclusion: Drawing the Poison 223.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1403971943

9781403971944

OCLC:

71266557

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description