January 2016 News and Analysis from NRGI

Highlight

Free Online Course: "Natural Resources for Sustainable Development"
This MOOC—massive open online course—is absolutely free, meaning that anyone with an internet connection can benefit from instruction by some of the world’s foremost experts. Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Prof. Sir Paul Collier, NRGI president Daniel Kaufmann and more than a dozen other thought leaders will take learners through an exploration of key issues like the political economy of natural resources, legal dimensions of extraction, environmental challenges, and the management and investment of revenues for sustainable development.

Spotlight on Data

Gilded Gatekeepers: Myanmar's State-Owned Oil, Gas and Mining Enterprises
NRGI has conducted research into the activities, revenue flows and governance of Myanmar’s state-owned extractive enterprises. The research reveals that the country’s oil, gas and mining companies collect huge amounts of revenue without much oversight. The report highlights opportunities for reform, some of which were discussed in an op-ed by NRGI's Patrick Heller.

From April 2013 to March 2014, the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) deposited more ($1.4 billion) into its "Other Accounts" than Myanmar spent on health ($750 million) or education ($1 billion).

Blog

What a Saudi Aramco Flotation Could Mean for Governance
Much of the early speculation after the announcement that Saudi Aramco was considering a public listing centered on impacts on global oil markets and investors. But looking at the news from the perspective of internal governance dynamics points to other interesting questions with implications for Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Shedding Light on Real Owners in DRC Mining Sector
While natural resources have the potential to bring development to the poorest countries in the world, realizing that potential is often a challenge. Opaque allocation of rights to extract oil, gas or minerals; secrecy around who really owns the companies doing the extraction; and non-disclosure of contracts are major issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As Extractive Economies Struggle, Eurasian Stakeholders Devise Solutions
In this era of low commodity prices, oil- and mineral-rich governments in Eurasia are under acute financial pressure. To discuss how governments in the region can respond to these challenges, NRGI’s Eurasia Knowledge Hub recently organized a three-day course in Istanbul on the management and distribution of natural resource revenues.

Civil Society Concerns Top Eurasia PWYP Meeting
In November 2015, Publish What You Pay members from across Eurasia met in Ulaanbaatar for an NRGI-led training session to discuss extractives governance challenges. Shrinking civil society space was a dominant concern.

First USEITI Report Shows Some Leadership, Need for Improvement
The release of the first U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report is both a laudable achievement and an indication that EITI cannot succeed without full accountability for all multi-stakeholder group participants.

NRGI President Daniel Kaufmann Discusses Governance Challenges, Anticorruption in Ukraine
Ukraine released its first Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report in December 2015, an important step forward in resource governance for the country. Its publication coincided with an EITI meeting in the country and related events in Odessa and the capital, Kiev.

Upcoming Events

Contract Transparency in Natural Resources
In this webinar, government representatives from Mexico and the Philippines—two countries that have taken significant steps to disclose their natural-resource related contracts—will discuss the challenges they encountered and examine the solutions or courses of action taken to address these obstacles. It will be co-hosted by the government of Mexico and the OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group.

EITI Global Conference in Lima, Peru
Natural Resource Governance Institute staff will take part in a full slate of activities at the EITI Global Conference in Lima, Peru, from February 23 to 25. More information on NRGI activities at the conference will appear on the NRGI website shortly. Register to attend here.

Natural Resource Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean: Social and Environmental Policies for Inclusive Growth
NRGI's Daniel Kaufmann will join an all-day panel on natural resource governance in Latin America and the Caribbean at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., on 3 March. Register here.

Summer School on Governance of Extractive Industries: Francophone Africa Knowledge Hub Training Course
The summer school aims to equip a large number of oversight actors, including CSOs, media and parliamentarians, with knowledge and skills to improve the quality of their response and their ability to positively influence the transparent and accountable management of extractive industries in Francophone Africa. Application deadline is 21 February.

NRGI in the News and On the Web

Financial Times [paywall]: Trial of former Nigerian official adjourned
The Guardian: Uganda determined not to let expected oil cash trickle away
Pulso (Chile): Daniel Kaufmann sobre corrupción: "En Chile el sector empresarial no ha asumido su responsabilidad política"
Myanmar Times: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) shines light on resource sector
Myanmar Times: SOEs cut public funding: NRGI report
The Monitor (Uganda): Who Will Manage Uganda's Oil Better
Daily Trust (Nigeria): New PIB eliminates group structure at NNPC
Transnational Institute: The Need for Peace and Inclusion

Careers

NRGI is hiring. Learn more.

Resource Governance Index Recruiting Researchers and Peer Reviewers for 2016 Edition
NRGI is still recruiting researchers in Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Liberia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to work on the next Resource Governance Index, which will cover 79 countries. A full description of the roles and a list of requirements are available here.

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) helps people to realize the benefits of their countries’ endowments of oil, gas and minerals. We do this through technical advice, advocacy, applied research, policy analysis, and capacity development. We work with innovative agents of change within government ministries, civil society, the media, legislatures, the private sector, and international institutions to promote accountable and effective governance in the extractive industries. For more information, please see www.resourcegovernance.org.