West African oil: will it matter

West Africa appears to have moved into third place, behind North America and the Middle East, on the list of geological exploration priorities of many oil companies, although no one knows the extent of the resource potential. Several West African nations also possess the potential to export significant amounts of natural gas if prices and new markets make development feasible. The six chapters of this document survey the petroleum potential of the eight established petroleum producing countries and the potential for other countries to develop a production capacity, and analyze some of the economic and political implications of West Africa's resources. 108 references, 1 figure, 11 tables.