Local oil production. the only hope left to the malagasy ?

The price of light crude oil, the reference in the oil market, is almost valued at 100 Usd per barrel right now, in other words, its historical peak.

Given the international context and how the oil companies in Madagascar have always made it clear that the local situation is correlated to the international situation, all the Malagasy people are waiting apprehensively for the next increase in price of fuel, which is unavoidable.

This increase is going to hurt everybody; it is another burden we will all have to carry. Indeed, not only the electricity bill has increased by 15% starting this month of October but also, the tax on salary is expected to increase at 25% in the budget of the government for 2008. And as if it were not enough the price of fuel is going to skyrocket.

Like all my fellow citizens, I am starting to fidget and wonder when the famous fuel of Madagascar is going to be finally extracted and commercialized. We can’t but hope that it is going to work out, (even though, some worry that like mainland Africa, it is going to end up in a civil war) the Malagasy people really need the oxygen it will provide.

Currently, there are 15 oil companies exploiting 19 concessions of oil in Madagascar. It is really encouraging but at the same it would be even better if they were more transparent in the information they provide. Among those companies, it is said that Madagascar Oil, present in the west and north west of Madagascar is the most advanced (it can be verified by the fact that more and more technicians working for AMECO, the subcontractor of the company are working on the
project) and it is even expected to have the first barrel before the end of the year. The other big companies such as Exxon Mobil, Tullow Oil are also starting to visit quite often the country to check on the advance of their prospections.

Let’s wait and see!