Last Updated : 14 July 2009 at 20:40 IST

Obama visit boost to oil prospects in West Africa

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VANCOUVER, CANADA (Commodity Online): U.S. President Barack Obama's highly publicized trip to Ghana has helped focus attention on oil and gas exploration throughout West Africa , as well as attracting new energy investment support to the African Continent, says the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Star Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GXX; OTC Bulletin Board: GXXFF).

In an exclusive news interview with Business New Network television (see the interview at www.goldstarresources.com and click on Press Releases & Media page), Patrick Morris, Gold Star Resources President and CEO, stated that the Obama trip has confirmed the "political stability" within West Africa. Morris told Business News Network that Gold Star Resources is the "first and only junior company to seek onshore oil & gas exploration opportunities in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire in the last 30 years." Gold Star Resources recently announced the acquisition of International Resource Strategies Liberia Energy (IRSLE).

The company also announced its Letter-of-Intent (LoI) with Bengal Bight Ghana Lid. To acquire 100% interest in the hydrocarbon rights of Bengal's 1,000 sq. km Tiampoum mining concession in Cote d'Ivoire, near the border with Ghana.

According to Morris, U.S. President Obama's recent visit to Ghana has given a powerful boost to oil investments in West Africa. The Gold Star Resources CEO told Business News Network TV that his company is aggressively seeking "onshore oil and gas exploration opportunities throughout West Africa and especially in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire." The Canadian oil executive also said that West Africa has shown increased promise to develop new hydrocarbon deposits in areas such as Liberia, where previous exploration was never completed because of the political instability within the country.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently stated that foreign investment in Africa reached $48 Billion, overtaking foreign aid for the first time. The group also stated that there has been a quadrupling of foreign investment in Africa since 2000. "Africa today resembles Asia in the 1980s," said Morris. "Investment markets are now opening up." (Source: PRNewswire)