West Africa Oil Pipeline Launches

[bemildred]

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) - The first tanker set off from a
Cameroon port with crude from a massive $3.7 billion pipeline,
officials said Sunday, launching an ambitious World Bank project
aimed at developing West African oil as an alternative to Mideast
supplies.

President Bush's administration, hopeful of lessening U.S.
dependence on Mideast oil, has pushed development of West
Africa's industry.

The 665-mile pipeline from the landlocked nation of Chad to the
Atlantic ports of Cameroon represents the World Bank's
largest-ever investment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Conceived in 1996 with support from the Clinton administration,
the pipeline was developed by an international consortium, with
ExxonMobile holding a 40 percent stake, Malaysia's Petronas 35
percent, and ChevronTexaco 25 percent.

Guardian