Western fears about growing Asian interest in securing African oil resources are highly exaggerated, Britain's Chatham House think-tank said in a report.

"In spite of fears expressed in Western capitals about an Asian takeover in the Nigerian and Angola oil sector, the reality is different," Chatham House said in a study on the presence of Asian companies in Africa's two main oil producers - Nigeria and Angola.

"These fears were highly exaggerated," said the think-tank on international affairs.

The Asian presence in Africa was recent and established Western oil majors retained a large advance on their new competitors, it said.

"They dominate production and hold the majority of reserves" in Angola and in Nigeria, according to the report which also called attention to growing competition between China and India in these two African nations, and between Asian actors generally.

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