Mauritanian Coup  

Soon-to-be oil exporter Mauritania has had a coup - which is likely to cause concern to Australian investors in companies like Woodside, ROC Oil and Hardman Resources that are developing these almost productive fields. The intentions of the new rulers aren't clear at this point, though they do seem to have some popular support if reports about celebrations in Nouakchott are correct.

Australian oil company Woodside Petroleum says its operations have not been affected by a coup in the north-west African country of Mauritania. Woodside, which operates the Chinguetti oil field in Mauritania, said it was accounting for its staff and contractors. "At this stage the company has received no indication that staff and contractors are in danger," Woodside said in a statement. "Offshore drilling operations have not been affected at this stage."

Troops in the oil-rich country seized power on Thursday while President Maaouyia Ould Taya was abroad, pledging to usher in a democracy within two years. Ould Taya, a former army chief of staff who ruled with an iron fist since staging a bloodless coup in 1984, was forced to land in the west African state of Niger. He had been in Saudi Arabia for the funeral of King Fahd. Ould Taya was a strong ally of the United States at the helm of Mauritania, which sits on some one billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas, according to the government, but has scarcely begun production.

There is some speculation that CNOOC might look at buying Woodside's share of the Mauritanian fields, or perhaps buy Hardman outright (which would be unlikely to get blocked, unlike a Woodside takeover bid).

In other news, the UAE has restarted a territorial dispute with Saudi Arabia in the wake of King Fahd's death.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rekindled a long-standing territorial dispute with Saudi Arabia in a bid to grab a share of a giant border oilfield that contains nearly 1.5 per cent of the world's total crude resources.

Just eight months after the death of Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan al-Nahyan, its pragmatic leader and founder, the UAE surprisingly declared that a 31-year-old border pact with its giant neighbour was no longer in force. While analysts rule out a military confrontation, they acknowledge that such a declaration by a top royal figure could harm relations and increase tension between the two Gulf oil heavyweights.

At the heart of the dispute is the giant Shaybah oilfield. Discovered in 1968, the field straddles the UAE-Saudi border and is believed to be one of the world's largest onshore oilfields, with current estimated proven reserves of 15.7 billion barrels.