CABINDA. Angola’s invaluable northern asset
The province provides over half of Angola’s oil and gas, and the biggest part of its hard currency export earnings

he province of Cabinda may be isolated from the rest of Angola, but it is an invaluable asset for the country as it attempts to repair the damage inflicted by decades of almost continuous civil war.
The province lies to the north of Angola, separated by a narrow strip of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cabinda’s value to Angola derives from its wealth in oil and natural gas, to the extent that it has been called the African Kuwait.
Oil is Angola’s primary source of hard currency export earnings and Cabinda provides more than half of Angolan oil and gas production. A flurry of new discoveries has sparked keen interest from foreign firms in further developing the country’s hydrocarbon reserves.

Given oil’s crucial role in Angola’s economy and Cabinda’s dominant position in the industry, it could be argued that the rest of the country would find it difficult to survive without it.
If Cabinda were an independent state, its population of just 300,000, out of the Angolan population of about 11 million, would probably be the richest people per capita on the continent.
Cabinda is not only blessed with oil and gas riches though. The province also has considerable potential for developing its minerals sector, with substantial reserves of diamonds, phosphate and manganese.

Much of Cabinda’s territory is covered by rainforest, providing a renewable source of quality timber and the basis for developing local wood-based industries. The fertile soil found in the province promises a vibrant future for an agricultural sector whose possibilities for commercial farming have barely been exploited so far.
In short, Cabinda more or less has it all – or at least it could, providing the province is able to attract sufficient investment to exploit its wealth of natural riches.
In that respect too, prospects for the province are closely tied to the future of the entire country in that investor interest will hinge on the chances of establishing a permanent peace.