US president Barack Obama’s second official visit to Africa continues a strategic shift in Washington’s interests on the con- tinent. Visits to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania are focused on supporting dem- ocratic governance and promoting US business to capitalise on the continent’s strong economic growth. But energy is relegated to a visit to a power plant. Africa’s importance to Washington as a source of oil imports has fallen sharply as rapidly rising domestic output of light tight oil has reduced US refiners’need for light sweet west African crudes. US refiners imported 376,000 b/d of Nige- rian crude in March, down from 948,000 b/d in the same month two years ago, US government agency the EIA says. And US crude imports from sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 9pc of the total in 2012, down from 19pc five years earlier.
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