iF : Okay . Right .
Mbaga : So , all these people are coming back to companies who have gone into shale oil . So , you are having these companies laying off and retiring men with decades of experience in conventional oil , and some of them do not want to retire . So , what they are doing is creating new companies , a new generation that is going back into conventional oil . People who know that you drill oil for a few years , then comes the production , and then you end . The shale oil is different , you know . First you pump all the liquids . You put them in a railroad . It is a completely different industry . So , I think that a state like Texas and a city like Houston really need to evaluate what is happening . Before everyone knew that Houston was the Capital of Conventional Oil and Gas . Right now , not so much .
iF : Not so much , huh ? Not so much .
Mbaga : Right ! There is Oklahoma . Oklahoma is talking about it ; others are talking about it . Houston is still the Capital of Conventional Oil and Gas of the World .
50 iF Magazine | May 2018 iF : Of Conventional Oil and Gas . So , you are saying we need to be thinking more forward ?
Mbaga : Yes . Like that . Houston shall continue being the Capital of Conventional Oil and Gas . If you want Conventional Oil and Gas , you come to Houston . If you want shale oil , go talk to Oklahoma . I know 2 things Americans are very good at ; exploiting any thing they do ; and making baubles . I have to say that sooner or later we buy the baubles .
iF : That is great That answers the question of invention . Now this is for the other people , the ones not so interested in oil and gas . What other investments are there ? Have you taken steps to protect your environment while you do this drilling ?
Mbaga : I don ’ t know whether you have actually looked into what is Equatorial Guinea . Have you seen some of the marketing videos ?
iF : Yes , I have seen some videos . I know what I saw .
Mbaga : So , what is the market ? This is the best time . Probably , by now everyone in the U . S . has seen the “ Black Panther ” already . iF : So , everyone wants to go the Africa !
Mbaga : Wakanda ! So , what is Wakanda is Malabo ! It is green . You have the beaches . You have the people with the developments . So clearly , we are one of the , I would say , Seychelles . It is a tourist market , a specialized market . I would say we are historically , an important island to African history . Equatorial Guinea , and this is more history than sociology . Equatorial Guinea , the island Bioko , was the first base created by the British to defend Africans and stop the slave trade . The first base was St . Clarence , which later became Malabo . The British created the base to capture any slave ship in the area . And when they captured the ship , they brought it to Malabo . Why do I tell you this ? Because next year is going to be the energy year of Africa for Equatorial Guinea . We are heavily invested in what we consider , the Afro-Latino Link .
iF : Yes ( softly )
Mbaga : Now this is very important .
iF : This is a specialty in the study of Art !
Mbaga : Let me explain to you what it is . The African Americans have done something very important . They have documented their history very well . There are all these movies , books , all these things you have .
iF : Right . Yes .
Mbaga : The Afro-Latino , almost zero . You must remember that the shipping was never directly to the U . S . It went to Cuba . It went to Argentina . One of the reasons it was not documented was that they did not speak English . The Afro-Americans had the British , the colonists , Europe and more . The Spanish , they were not interested , because they were a principle step in this business . So , what was the only African country that spoke Spanish ?