No man an island

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan wanted to resolve a 35-year old territorial dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon before his tenure ends. That looks doubtful. The minuscule, uninhabited islands of Mbanié, Cocotiers and Conga are probably rich in oil and gas, and their territorial waters towards São Tomé e Príncipe contain richer known reserves. The conflict lay dormant in the 1970s and restarted when President Omar Bongo Ondimba's son, Ali Ben Bongo, visited the islands in February 2003. Gabon has granted exploration rights in two areas of the disputed territory: Royal Dutch Shell through its Igoumou license and Anadarko in Agali. Neither company will explore until legal title is settled. Both governments have wavered over creating a joint exploitation zone for the islands in Corsico Bay.

Article Tags:
Kofi Annan, São Tomé e Príncipe, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Ali Ben Bongo, Dutch, André Mba Obame, René Ndemezo' Obiang, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Désiré Ename, Pierre Mamboundou, Zacharie Myboto, François Ebanet, Jean Ping, China, United States, French, Côte d'Ivoire, Congo-Kinshasa, Zimbabwe, Union, Echos du Nord, Conseil National de la Communication

end of preview

To read the rest of the article you need to either log in or do one of the following:

Subscribe to Africa Confidential Find out more
Purchase this article on its own Find out more

If you have a print subscription already please click here for full access to the website.
If you have already logged in and believe you should have access to this article please contact customer services.