Greg's Note: The continent of Africa has long been rich with many natural resources. Although Africa is host to many coveted and scarce resources, trade with African countries has not been conducted at high levels in the recent past. Capital and Crisis' Chris Mayer reports that could all soon be changing. Large oil and natural gas deposits have recently been discovered, and the reluctance to trade with African countries is dissipating. Africa has had these resources for some time, but in the near future may finally begin pulling its enormous weight by helping to supply the rest of the world. Is it finally time for us to begin reaping the resource rewards Africa has to offer? Let us know by writing to greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com Whiskey and Gunpowder Quest for African Resources There is a map of the world on my office wall. What I like about this particular map is that the mapmaker paid particular attention to getting the scale right. That means Africa gets it proper gigantic sizing. It is truly a massive landmass. It's also fitting that it sits close to the center, because Africa is a big part of the future of natural resource exploration and production. In some sense, it's retaking its historical pre-eminence. For instance, consider the former rich trading cities in the East. ~~~~~~~~~~~~Special~~~~~~~~~~~~ Less Than One Week Left In just the first six months of 2007 , the AVERAGE top-tier stock in this all-but-unknown universe of securities gained 25,498%! Just $100 invested in the best of these on New Year's Day would've handed lucky shareholders gains of $409,900 before the Fourth of July... Starting RIGHT NOW, I'm offering those who respond to this dispatch a chance to turn even a small investment into a small fortune on this ace analyst's best picks in this overlooked market. But you must act quickly: Fewer than 600 spots remain in his revolutionary services ranks. And I must hear from you by midnight on Thursday, July 31 — I expect all empty seats to be long filled by then. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little more from the old sailor, who speaks poetically of his trade: "The wind in our sails made us rich, just as it did our ancestors. In the season, dozens of foreign dhows would arrive - booms 100 feet long or more, great sails white against the sky. And at night! Hundreds of dhows big and small anchored in the harbor, their cooking fires shining like stars in the night." The east African trading cities thrived between the 12th and 18th centuries, with ships sailing in and out on monsoon winds. Africa had good harbors and plentiful fish and lots to trade with India and Arabia. Ties between India and Africa, especially, strengthened under the common influence of Islam and the Portuguese. (Portugal colonized both Goa and Africa's coast.) Africa is also home to a large population of ethnic Indians, which helps bridge trade further. One of Africa's better known industrialists - Manu Chandaria - was born in Kenya, but his parents are from the Indian state of Gujarat. These historical ties and those old trade routes are reviving once again. In the spring, Delhi hosted the first Indian-African summit. Trade between India and Africa tops $25 billion per year. Nigeria, for example, accounts for 10 percent of India's crude oil imports. But China's trade with Africa is a lot more - $55 billion annually. The reason for this boom in trade? A hunger for the natural resources of Africa. Africa increasingly is right in the middle of the global quest for natural resources. It has the highest ratio of light and sweet crude in the world - the best-quality stuff you can find. And most of its oil - some 83 percent - comes from large fields that produce at least 100 million barrels per day. Meaningful amounts of premium oil in large fields explain why Africa attracts so much investment. Between 2002-2006, the big oil companies tripled their spending in Africa. The recent discovery of oil sands in the Congo by Eni, a big Italian oil group, lends more credence to the idea of Africa as the future of global oil supply. Eni hasn't said how much resource its vast acreage might hold. But the Financial Times reports early samples suggest that "The area as a whole could hold more oil than Eni's entire reserves of 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent." That would put Eni's resource on par with the huge Kashagan field in Kazakhstan. Eni potentially doubled its oil reserves with this one African find. ~~~~~~~~~~~~Special~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Myth of Abundant Oil We've been told for years that oil would last forever. We especially here this from the governments of many oil producing countries. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The many lies we've been told are finally being exposed, and we're paying the price. What's really going on here? Find out by clicking here… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Right now, Africa puts out only about 12 percent of the world's oil output. By 2012, that could be 30 percent. No wonder, then, that it has become such a competitive battleground for the oil companies. In a recent auction, India's state oil company bid $321 million for an Angolan oil block. A Chinese oil giant bid $725 million. Guess who won? It's not just about oil, either. Africa holds tremendous amounts of natural gas, minerals and natural resources of all kinds. Much of it is in places that are easy to do business in. But there is often a fragile social fabric, which seems ever on the brink of civil war or a coup or worse. In Niger, for example, you will find some of the world's largest deposits of uranium. Niger plans to double its output over the next several years. Companies from all over the world - Australia, Canada, China, India and France - scramble to lock down claims. But the uranium deposits lie in the ancestral home of the nomadic Tuareg. The Blue Men of the Desert (so-called due to the color of their favored indigo dyes) return to old ceremonial grounds to find red flags marking uranium deposits. The result is predictable - battles between the Niger army and Tuareg fighters, and bloodshed. Yet the rewards dangling before the world's eyes are so great. Many companies will walk the edge of that precipice for a shot at glory. Regards, P.S. Companies willing to work in troubled and often dangerous parts of Africa are putting themselves at great risk. But the rewards they could be in store for more than outweigh any potential risks they may encounter. But while we wait for Africa to burst forth with its natural gifts, a similar investment renaissance has taken place in another untapped continent. The rewards here are already pouring in, and many people have been made very wealthy in the process. Click here to see how and where this has occurred… |
Whiskey & Gunpowder Special Reports New "Backlash" Set to Rocket Oil Past $150...and Send Gas Soaring to Over $6 per Gallon The 10 Shocking Reasons for China's Pollution Problem Geothermal Energy: Investment in the Future Here's One Coal Stock That's Set to Skyrocket Investing in Exchange Traded Funds The Real Story Behind the True Gold Bull Market If someone forwarded you this copy, please look here to start your own subscription. Wanna let us know what you thought of today's issue? Now you can... click on this link. Whiskey & Gunpowder is a free e-mail service brought to you by a team of rebellious brigands. If you have not already done so, please click here to confirm your subscription. This will help us ensure you get every Whiskey & Gunpowder without interruption. Are you having trouble receiving your Whiskey & Gunpowder? You can ensure its arrival in your mailbox here. Please note: we sent this e-mail to lemmetry@gmail.com because you subscribed to this service. To end your Whiskey & Gunpowder e-mail subscription, click here. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investment advice.We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of a printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. © 2008 Agora Financial, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. This newsletter may only be used pursuant to the subscription agreement and any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the World Wide Web), in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Agora Financial, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. |
