African Nations Plan To Launch Their Own 'Energy Bank'

African countries are planning to launch their own financing vehicle for oil and gas projects in the face of growing pressure from Western financial institutions to abandon the development of these resources. The group of 18 states needs $5 billion to kickstart what it calls an energy bank. They call themselves the African Petroleum Producers Organization, according to a recent report in the Financial Times that said African resource-rich countries have grown frustrated with Western banks' refusal to lend money for the development of oil and gas…