Gambian president says oil found in his nation

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

DAKAR, Senegal -- The Gambian president announced the discovery of "large quantities" of oil in his tiny West African nation, saying the offshore find would eliminate poverty and hunger, Gambian media reported. An unnamed Western company made the find while studying 200 square miles of Atlantic seabed off Gambia's coast, the Gambian newspaper The Independent reported Monday. "I now have the open duty to announce that the results of the study are very positive ... there exists oil in the Gambia in very large quantities," the paper quoted President Yahya Jammeh as saying. Government officials in Banjul, the capital, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

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