Africa," gushed Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha last week, "is the continent of the 21st century." Long ravaged as an afterthought of the Third World, Africa has suddenly become the focus of a new strategic and commercial vision by countries that want a slurp of its oil barrels.

The Gulf of Guinea in western Africa holds about 24 billion barrels of oil, while Africa has about 9.1 per cent of the world's total reserves. Of the eight billion barrels of new oil discovered in the world last year, seven billion were in the Gulf of Guinea, say Indian energy officials.

SPARKING HOPE: Oil spells prosperity in parts of poverty-stricken Africa, as this rig does in Nigeria

Oil is clearly the dowry that has prompted India's re-wooing of Africa. Senior Indian officials wax poetic about Equatorial Guinea being the next Kuwait while pouring investments into Sudan, Algeria, Tanzania and Angola. Responding to the new energy dynamics, the Ministry of External Affairs (mea) last week sent a senior delegation led by secretary Shashank, to Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Senegal for intensive political dialogue and will go later to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Minister of State for Commerce Rajiv Pratap Rudy will be in Lagos, Nigeria, soon to prod commercial counsellors at India's missions abroad. And five heads of state from Africa have already visited India in the past few months.

The US is clearly leading the charge in energy investments in western Africa. Newly appointed Undersecretary for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner has been whizzing through western African capitals at a dizzying speed, firming up political and economic relations with the myriad countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea. "There is no doubt that increased oil production from Africa would improve global energy security," he said recently. "Oil rich West Africa has become a strategic interest." Africa even found a crucial mention in the US national security strategy last year. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the US might be considering setting up a naval base on the tiny island nation of Sao Tomé e Principe.

The strategic value of African energy reserves was emphasised after 9/11 and a US determination to reduce its dependence on Saudi Arabia, reinforced after last week's attacks in Riyadh. At present, the US imports 15 per cent of its oil from Africa. This is slated to go up to 25 per cent by 2015. The $3.7 billion Chad-Cameroon pipeline will deliver 2,50,000 barrels from Chad to the US. The ultimate objective in diversifying energy resources, according to international security analysts, is to degrade the importance of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, as the world uses this whip to crack down on the cashbox of jehad.

India too has been looking to spread its oil import basket and reduce its dependence on Gulf oil. The recent Iraq war brought home India's insecurities in this respect and the Government is more intent than ever to look at opportunities abroad to secure its oil supplies. From Siberia to Sudan, Indian firms are spreading their wings to maintain India's energy security interests. India currently imports 15 per cent of its foreign oil from Nigeria and is working overtime to expand its footprint, in the teeth of intense competition for these virgin markets from China and Malaysia. While the Indian Oil Corporation has a long-term arrangement in Nigeria, top officials in ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) confirmed that India is looking at production-sharing contracts in Angola and Tanzania, going ahead with overseas investments despite dissonance in some quarters.

What makes the Gulf of Guinea oil so attractive, given that it is popping up in countries that you would have trouble locating on a map and which are known more for civil war, corruption and poverty? According to senior officials involved in energy security, African oil is good quality-low in sulphur, almost as sweet and light as Saudi Arabian oil. Most of the oil finds are offshore, which substantially reduces the risks of companies being caught up in local wars. Then, most of it is non-OPEC oil, a fact India and the US believe could ultimately kill the Arab-dominated cartel. Next, while it may not be as cheap as, say, Iraqi oil, its strategic benefits are believed to outweigh commercial considerations.

India recently pulled off a coup of sorts by buying over 25 per cent of Canadian Talisman Energy's stake in the Greater Nile Oil Project in Sudan for $670 million, which will guarantee it three million tonnes of crude annually. With CNPC of China and Petronas of Malaysia as hot competition, it was the Sudanese Government that tipped the balance for India. The first consignment of oil from Sudan arrived at Mangalore on May 15 to cheers from security analysts and oil executives.

Officials say this is an example of India's goodwill in the African continent, nurtured through years of non-alignment and south-south cooperation. Despite Ministry of Finance exasperation about credit lines to non-paying African nations, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee recently overturned this policy, allowing $20 million credit lines each to Mozambique and Zambia, clearly with an eye to the future.

A relatively new entrant in the global energy playground, Delhi is slowly learning-from seasoned players like the Chinese-how to win hearts and contracts with equal felicity. The Chinese recently built the headquarters for the Mozambique Foreign Ministry, earning many brownie points, while India is struggling to firm up a policy extending lines of credit to these nations and accepting, in case of defaults, payments in oil. In fact, it would be fair to say that Sino-Indian competition has now shifted to these "virgin" markets. The Chinese are good players. They snatched an electrification project in Ghana with a $50 million over-the-counter donation, while India dithered.

South Block is burning the midnight oil to craft fleet-footed policies that straddle politics and economics, but, as analysts point out, Delhi will have to think ahead of its east Asian rival to keep its footprint in Africa.