New Online Short Course Helps Learners to Understand Negotiations for Extractive Industry Contracts

Natural resource governance is changing rapidly in the pandemic era and as the need to transition to more sustainable energy sources becomes ever more urgent. Yet humans still rely on the extraction of non-renewable resources. The contracts which govern extraction have significant implications for a country’s economic growth, development, environment, and communities; the stakes for citizens are high. Government officials must make well-informed decisions that reflect the interests and concerns of different stakeholders, and civil society actors need the tools to effectively oversee this process. 

High hopes around resource-funded development have been followed by failure to improve the quality of life for citizens in resource-rich countries. In some cases, resource extraction has engendered conflict and further economic and social disempowerment. Corruption, lack of accountability, mismanagement and poorly structured deals prevent citizens from receiving their due. For a long time, many of these contracts were hidden, although a new global norm means that over 40 governments now publish contracts, licenses and permits. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has worked to improve contract transparency in the sector, promoting greater transparency around investments in the extractive industries and facilitating a better understanding of the contracts that govern them.

To help countries secure better deals when negotiating extractive contracts, NRGI, in partnership with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) and SDG Academy, and with the support of CONNEX Support Unit, is launching a three-week online course at no cost to learners. Through this course, participants will learn about the challenges governments face as they aim to negotiate strong contracts, and the strategies that governments can use to address these and increase the chances of reaching a good deal. The course will also cover the importance of disclosing a negotiated agreement and making it publicly available to enable more transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sectors. The “mini” massive open online course (MOOC) will lay out the various stages of planning and preparation for large-scale investment, including how to negotiate the main investment contracts, and how to monitor and manage the implementation of the investment.

Online self-paced courses offer more potential than ever before as they can reach thousands of people across the globe, particularly those in developing countries with limited access to learning opportunities exacerbated by extended travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. NRGI online offerings seeks to address this.

Building on our existing online learning resources, the “Getting a Good Deal: Negotiating Extractive Industry Contracts”, will contribute to strengthening the technical capacity of multiple stakeholders interested in the role of extractive industry contracts and how to optimize contract negotiations. This short self-paced course complements our MOOC “Natural Resources for Sustainable Development: The Fundamentals of Oil, Gas and Mining Governance”, which offers a holistic look at the role of extractives in sustainable development.

Among its three modules, the course covers the legal framework and roles of contracts and related challenges, the role of model contracts, what government officials need to know before negotiating a contract, how to assemble a team and choosing a strategy for negotiations, researching contracts using ResourceContracts.org, the negotiation moment, and how to implement a contract after a negotiation.

Six leading experts on contract negotiation in the extractive sector will present the three modules:

• Solongoo Bayarsaikhan, deputy chief at the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Mongolia
• Alberto Reyes, former vice-minister of hydrocarbons, Government of the Dominican Republic
• Nicola Woodroffe, senior legal analyst, NRGI
• Zorigt Dashdorj, former minister of mineral resources and energy, Government of Mongolia
• Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, senior legal researcher, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
• Herbert P. M’cleod, country director for Sierra Leone and Liberia, International Growth Centre

The course is offered in English and requires between three to six hours of commitment per week. The self-paced format allows participants to learn on their own terms by watching the videos and doing the exercises at their own convenience, thus avoiding scheduling issues.

Sign up for the course.

Catalina Muller is a capacity development program associate at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).