China, Filling a Void, Drills for Riches in Chad – Howard W. French and Lydia Polgreen

One of many impoverished and debt-ridden African countries that are now attracting Chinese businessmen, Chad is hoping that Chinese investments its oil fields will benefit the economy, instead of corrupt officials.

From the New York Times:

Chad is as geographically isolated as places come in Africa. It is also among the continent’s poorest and least stable countries, the scene of recurrent civil wars and foreign invasions since it gained independence from France in 1960.

None of that has put off the Chinese, though. In January, they bought the rights to a vast exploration zone that surrounds this rural village, making the baked wilderness here, without roads, electricity or telephones, the latest frontier for their thirsty oil industry and increasingly global ambitions. [Full Text]

[Image: Chinese and Chadian workers at an oil site in southern Chad, part of China's growing economic presence in Africa. From NYT/Ruth Fremson.]