A regional bloc of African states has thrown its weight behind a controversial oil extraction and pipeline project in Chad which environmentalists oppose. The 11-strong Community of Sahelian-Saharan States (CED-SAD) adopted a resolution backing the project at a two-day meeting in the country's capital N'Djamena which ended on Saturday evening. The $3.5 billion project aims to develop 300 oil wells near Doba in the south of the impoverished, landlocked country.