<
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-drilling-africa-destroy-wild-land-namibia-recon-investors-1234697088/>
"At the edge of the Okavango Delta in northern Namibia, the land is so flat
that I could see the top of ReconAfrica’s drill rig when we were about a mile
away. ReconAfrica is a small Canadian oil-and-gas-exploration company that
claimed to have discovered an oil-and-gas basin rivaling anything in Texas near
one of the most pristine ecosystems in Africa, a remote, wide-open landscape
where herds of wild elephants roam and endangered wild dogs hunt in packs. News
of ReconAfrica’s alleged discovery had caused its stock price to shoot up,
giving the company a value of nearly $2 billion before it ever pumped a drop of
oil out of the ground. The discovery is also poised to kick off an oil-and-gas
boom in Africa just when it has become clear to most scientists and political
leaders that, to maintain a hospitable climate, fossil fuels need to stay in
the ground. As we drove closer to the rig, I noticed a Namibian flag and a
Canadian flag flying side by side on top, as if to suggest this rig were a
symbol of international cooperation rather than one of planetary destruction.
I had driven up to the drill site from Rundu, a Namibian town about two hours
away, in a beat-to-shit Land Cruiser with Steve Stockhall, a Botswana-based
wildlife guide and photographer, and Stefan Kudumo, a Namibian activist and
translator. We were all a little nervous as we approached the site — oil
companies in Africa don’t have a reputation for playing nice with inquisitive
journalists."
Via Whuffo, who wrote "They think there’s a massive pool of oil underneath and
are trying to bait investors to finance the exploitation of this putative
resource." and via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
