How many times do I have to tell you?

It's not about the oil.

Notes from a conference organized by Global Pacific and Partners in Cape Town.

"We spend about half our costs on drilling. There are large parts of Africa which do not yet have a Shell presence, and we are looking for opportunities," he said.

Experts at the conference said that demand for oil was expected to grow at a rate of 2 to 3% a year from its current demand of 120 million barrels a day.

Production from established oilfields would decline, creating a gap of 80 million barrels a day.

Half of this gap would be filled by fields not yet in production.

Africa, which has about 9% of the world's oil and gas reserves, has the potential to provide a large part of this.

Duncan Clarke, the chief executive of the London-based Global Pacific and Partners, said Africa had become a "critical" source of oil and gas and there were huge opportunities for exploration and production.

Huge opportunities for exploitation and corruption.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.