September 2020 News and Analysis from NRGI

News from NRGI
1 October 2020

Highlights

Beneath the Surface: The Case for Oversight of Extractive Industry Suppliers

Even amid the pandemic downturn, the governance of extractive industry suppliers impacts producer-country government budgets and citizens' well-being. This report details the supplier landscape in oil, gas and mining and highlights governance pitfalls. Read a blog post that puts the research into context. (The report is also available in French and Spanish.)

Ghana is Planning to Sell Most of its Future Gold Royalties
NRGI experts provided comment to The Economist on the Ghanaian government's controversial Agyapa gold royalty management plan. (Registration required to read.)

Pandemic, Problems at Pemex Suggest a Rethink of Mexico’s Energy Strategy
President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador has pushed an economic agenda that prioritizes the “rescue” of state oil company Pemex. NRGI's Alonso Hidalgo argues that the transition to renewable sources of energy demands increased scrutiny of the government’s plans. (Also available in Spanish.)

Research

The Practice and Potential of Blockchain Technologies for Extractive Sector Governance

Can blockchain technologies contribute to solving governance challenges in the mining, oil and gas sectors? This report, which summarizes analysis by GovLab and NRGI, offers an initial set of design principles as a starting point for a more targeted approach to the use of blockchain in improving extractives governance.

How Did Africa's Prospective Petroleum Producers Fall Victim to the Presource Curse?
In this World Bank working paper, NRGI authors review developments in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that made their first (major) petroleum discoveries during the most recent commodity boom. They also document the various policies adopted in response to the discoveries and find that, in some cases, over-optimism contributed to the "presource curse."

Blog

Inclusive Extractives Governance Depends on Elusive Gender-Disaggregated Data

While women are disproportionately affected by the extractive sector, government policies, laws, and regulations are often blind to the gender-differentiated impacts of the industry. This second post in a series on gender and extractives argues that gender-disaggregated data can lead to more inclusive regulations and guidelines for the natural resource sector.

Electric Vehicle Battery Sustainability is a Must to Meet Climate Ambitions
As political leaders and electric vehicle industry players pursue a dramatic shift to electrification of the world's cars and trucks, they must address governance of the extraction of the requisite minerals, write NRGI's Patrick Heller and Ethan Elkind of the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law.

Commodity Trading Transparency: Voluntary Guidelines Show the Way, Authorities Must Now Legislate
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has released helpful guidance for commodity traders willing to publish information about their purchases from state actors. In this post, NRGI's Joseph Williams suggests that authorities should mandate such disclosures in law.

Video

Managing Oil, Gas and Mining Governance in Exceptional Times

The residential NRGI-Blavatnik School of Government executive course on oil, gas and mining governance, aimed at senior professionals in the extractives sector, was postponed this year due to the coronavirus crisis. This 2.5-hour online event provided a "taster" of the course, with insights into the current unprecedented situation from the global experts who teach it. (To register interest or nominate a participant for next year's course, taking place 13-17 September 2021, email oilgas.mining@bsg.ox.ac.uk.)

Seminario Hidrocarburos en América Latina: Retos para superar la dependencia
How has the pandemic and the recession impacted the oil and gas sector in Latin America? At this Spanish-language webinar organized by RLIE, CEDLA and NRGI, experts analyzed the scope and characteristics of dependence on hydrocarbons, the latest approaches, and alternative experiences of policies aimed at overcoming dependence on hydrocarbon exports.