OOC

OOC Discussion.

I hope I'm approved for South Africa. I would like to see us (I see we have some African Nations covered here) work together to form a Continental Free Trade Zone which would be based on removing trade barriers and capital controls within Africa and working to negotiate Continental Trade Deals with the European Union, the United States, Japan, China, India and Russia.

Are we going to do anything in the AU this round?

I am slightly creeped out by the repeated phrase "let's get down to business."
Feel like an orgy is about to break out.

I thought the exact same thing when I read the thread lol.

Did I hear orgy?

Hopefully everyone is beginning to dislike the Kabila governments attitude at this point.

Hey Richard, I moved your post from an IC thread to the OOC in case you wondered where it had gone. Where would the pipeline be going to South Africa from, are you planning a pipeline from Angola through Namibia and Botswana and into South Africa?

The cost would depend on a number of factors such as length, agreements with the nations it crosses for transit fees, who builds it, diameters, pumping capability, security, environmental concerns, ecological concerns, avoiding areas of indigenous groups and how long you are prepared to wait for it to be produced. Obviously there are many more factors but these are the ones that spring to mind at 1.36am!

I'm wanting the pipeline to move oil and natural gas from Angola to S. Africa. S. Africa has an abundance of coal. It's lacking in oil and gas and importing those needs. The advantage of a pipeline is three fold: (1) Angola would be able to provide for our oil and gas needs, (2) Angola trades more with us than the Middle Eastern Countries which would mean that buying oil and gas from Angola would provide them with more money to buy S. African goods and services and (3) we could establish oil refineries to refine and process their oil into gasoline, diesel and jet-fuel which could then be sold throughout Africa.

Ok, so you're going to be looking at a pipeline that stretches for over 2,000 miles, based on the Keystone pipeline a 30inch pipe with 39 pumping stations, albeit probably using the best or not far off the best technology available pumps at 500,000bpd or around 88% of the daily import requirements of South Africa. At the lower end of international average transit prices you'll be paying Botswana almost $100million p/a, at the higher end $182million p/a.

In terms of timescale it's hard to say as the majority of these long pipelines utilise already existing infrastructure or take place in developed countries with experience building them. I'd take a punt at a minimum of ten years based purely on the lack of basic infrastructure in south eastern Angola and the terrible terrain. Not to mention the abundance of landmines which will make construction a pain in the backside.

In terms of cost, the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline which is half the length of your proposal cost just under $4billion in 2004, needed 10,000 workers and created 1,000 long term jobs. These are countries with a more amenable climate, terrain, educated workers, better social conditions with regards food and health. Again, I'd have to take a punt at a guess but you'd be building from scratch with no existing infrastructure so I'd say you'd be looking at $9-12billion.

That's an oil pipeline, for a gas pipeline you'd be looking at the same again though it may cost slightly less and proceed faster as you may have trained workers, existing infrastructure having completed one or the other first.

With a 4% budget deficit, a debt of above 40% of GDP and rising how would this be funded and who will help you out? I don't recall how much oil and gas Angola produces but would it have the spare capacity to feed China with everything it wants and South Africa also? And would China, probably the safest bet for help on a project of this scale help build a project that will take resources it wants for itself?

These are all estimations and I'm happy to be corrected!

Well, upon reviewing the information (thank you very much by the way), I don't think this is feasible from a financial perspective. I'd be better off investing in domestic infrastructure and education.

Although, I am expecting strong economic growth this year which should be able to reduce the debt to GDP ratio. I've instituted flat tax reform along with a total tax exemption for the manufacturing sector and manufactured goods. I've also introduced a non-profit public health insurance option and that should reduce medical expenses which will free up income for other purchases and spending. That's not to mention the privatization of S. Africa Air and Eskom (the nation's power provider) with all of the IPO Revenue being used to build new power stations, upgrade the power grid, open new routes, purchase new air-planes and improve air service. I'm expecting a short and long-term boost from those measures. Financial Reform should also add to short and long term growth as I'm switching to a Swiss-style monetary policy (price stabilization), introducing ISAs to encourage people to save and invest, allowing commercial banks to invest and purchase high-grade corporate bonds and insuring deposited savings. I should manage to become Africa's version of the Bahamas or Cayman Islands.