Last Updated: Thursday, 8 March 2007, 16:05 GMT
Angola eyes $50bn oil investments http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6431431.stm
[Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest oil producer]
Angola has said it expects to see investors pour $50bn (£25.9bn) into its oil industry over the next six years.
The forecast from the head of the state oil company comes despite reports that talks over a $3bn Chinese investment in a key Angolan oil refinery had ended.
Angola, which recently emerged from a bloody 27-year civil war, has become sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest oil producer after Nigeria.
The country is China's biggest supplier of crude oil.
Manuel Vicente, chairman of state oil firm Sonangol, said growth in the oil industry was fuelling an economic boom in Angola.
Nevertheless, Angola remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with the vast majority of its population living on less than $1 a day.
Mr Vicente said he expected oil investment in areas including infrastructure construction and maintenance services.
Angola, which recently joined the international oil producers' cartel Opec, currently produces about 1 million barrels of oil per day, although that is projected to reach 2 million barrels per day by 2008.