German corporate energy and engineering giants jumped at an invitation from Nigeria’s president this week to form a strategic partnership with his country. At talks in Nigeria on October 22, the German delegation agreed to increase Germany’s presence in the mineral-rich African nation.

The talks, led by George Boomgaarden, Germany’s state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were aimed at forging a partnership for the rapid development of Nigeria’s power sector. They came at a time when Nigeria desperately needs foreign investment. Years of military coups and countercoups have left the country unstable; much of the infrastructure built under British colonial rule is run down and depleted.

Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua said his country will welcome Germany’s world-renowned power and energy sector companies—including giants like Siemens and Ruhrgas—to help restore critical infrastructure for power generation, transmission and distribution.

“I have called this meeting,” said Yar’Adua, “because we need very close cooperation and collaboration with German business concerns with regards to developing our power and energy sector, which is going to be the focal point of this administration’s economic strategies in the immediate future. Nigeria is ready to partner with Germany and Europe for the development of power infrastructure, which will serve as a springboard for the economic transformation of our country.”

There is little doubt that German corporations will jump at the opportunity. Though Nigeria, with a population of over 130 million, boasts a gross domestic product of less than $200 billion (2006 estimate), it doesn’t mean that the country is not rich in other ways. It is home to vast unexploited mineral resources including coal and tin. It also has large known deposits of iron, niobium, lead, zinc and limestone (though its mining industry is almost non-existent due to neglect and instability since independence from Britain). Germany, a massive industrialized manufacturing economy with large raw resource needs, seems like the ideal partner for this African nation.

Nigeria’s single most strategic mineral—and the one Germany is undoubtedly most interested in—is oil. Nigeria is the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter, and holds the 10th-largest proved reserves. Some observers believe Nigeria could quickly ramp up oil exports if law and stability was imposed on the crime- and corruption-ridden industry. For example, Royal Dutch Shell says 55,000 barrels per day are stolen from its operations alone.

Germany is critically reliant on imported oil. It looks like the risks associated with doing business in a politically unstable country with high crime rates may be outweighed by the juicy resources prizes.

However, Germany is not alone in seeking to exploit Nigerian mineral wealth. Both China and America are involved there. The competition for resources is heating up as mineral prices soar. Watch for Africa to become a battleground for the materials and energy to fuel industry. Read: “Stoking the Engines of Empires.”