Maritime security is an emerging issue in the Gulf of Guinea region.1 Energy security and trade depend to a large extent on sea-based transport, and the region is currently the source of around 5.4 million barrels of oil per day. This is equivalent to more than the total amount imported by EU27 countries in 2008 and over half of US crude oil imports in 2008. Oil supply from the region in 2011 was equivalent to 40% of total EU27 and 29% of total US petroleum consumption in the same year. Angola and Nigeria account, respectively, for 34% and 47% of the region’s total oil supply. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea accounted for nearly 30% of attacks (427 of 1,434) in African waters between 2003 and 2011, and that proportion is increasing. This is partly due to successful counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia (operation EU NAVFOR Atalanta) that have reduced piracy east of Suez, but instances of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea are also on the increase: 53 cases were recorded in 2011, compared with 39 in 2010, and a number of cases go unreported. This trend has continued into 2013 with attacks off the coasts of Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and the Republic of Congo. Much of the problem of oil theft may have root causes in Nigeria. The country has a population of around 150 million, and the average age is only 19. The Niger Delta is home to 30 million people, 30% of whom are unemployed. This does not just present an immediate domestic economic problem, but the toxic mix of organised crime, rising small-arms proliferation and insurgency, and high levels of youth unemployment has regional implications too. Increased violence in the Delta region would lead to increased numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons. If 10% of the Niger Delta population were displaced, then three million people would be dispersed around West Africa, dramatically escalating the problem. On the other hand, the underlying problems and root causes cannot simply be pinned on Nigeria, and maritime security is a regional rather than a purely Nigerian issue as pirates cross international boundaries and attack foreign ships, and as many are located in different countries. This is evident in the rise of attacks elsewhere in the region. Some of the comparative scale of the problem in Nigeria may be the result of the country being by far the largest oil producer in the region.

1. Transnational Criminal
Networks and Energy
Security
The case of the Gulf of Guinea.
By: Hansel Arrey

2. The Gulf of Guinea
Background
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3. Research Questions
• What are the main causes of Piracy in the Gulf of
Guinea and how does this affect Energy
Security?
• What are the measures that have been adopted
so far to fight against piracy and to what extend
are they efficient?

4. • The Gulf of Guinea is the north easternmost part
of the tropical Atlantic Ocean that Stretches from
Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape
Palmas in Liberia.
• The following West and Central African countries
share the Gulf of Guinea:
• Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal,
Ivory Coasts, The Democratic Republic of Congo,
Chad and Sao Tome and Principe

5. Gulf of Guinea and Energy
Security
• Geographical location: Its proximity to Europe and North
America, facilitates the transportation of “light-Sweet” crude
oil from the region.
• A major source of hydrocarbons: The region produces about
5.4 million barrels of oil per day. 15% of US energy needs
comes from this region and this percentage is estimated to
increase to about 25% by 2020. Europe, China, India, Japan
and Brazil also source substantial parts of their energy
needs from this region.
• Region has the fastest rate of the discovery of new oil
reserves in the world.

6. Pirates: A major challenge to Energy
Security

9. Causes of Piracy
• Legal and Juridical Weakness/Confusion
• Favourable Geography
• Conflict and Disorder
• Under-funded law enforcement and Inadequate Security
• Permissive Political Environment
• Cultural Acceptability
• Promise of Reward

10. A Regional Approach to
Combatting Piracy
• Gulf of Guinea Commission: A regional body
directly tasked with the fight against Piracy.
• Regional Maritime Security Center in Yaounde
(Cameroon), to facilitate information and
intelligence sharing.

11. Foreign Military Support

12. US Africa Command
(AFRICOM)
• Supports navies from Gulf of Guinea States
through programs such as the Africa Power
Station.
• Organises regular security training exercises
such as the “Obangame Express”
• Other initiatives include the African Maritime Law
Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP)

13. EU “CRIMGO”
• Critical Maritime Routes in the Gulf of Guinea
Program (CRIMGO), that helps governments
increase safety in the main shipping routes.

14. Challenges to the Fight
Against Piracy
• State Weakness, Poverty and Unemployment,
Corruption and Bad Governance, Insurgents,
Vested Interests, Militant and other extremist
groups such as Boko Harram and other Al-Qaeda
affiliates.

15. Thank YOU