The conflict of interests over the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea among global oil majors emerged this week soon after a South Korean consortium exercised a special right to acquire two deepwater blocks in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer,at the just-concluded licensing round at the weekend.

The Gulf of Guinea, famous for its light, sweet crude highly valued by the US market, is believed to hold as much as 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, but almost all of its crude are produced by Western oil giants such as Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total.

China View