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1. No Time to Waste: Governing Cobalt Amid the Energy Transition

Author:
David Manley, Patrick Heller, and William Davis
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Cobalt is critical. Along with other critical minerals, cobalt has important economic uses and currently few viable substitutes, yet its supply faces a high risk of disruption. Manufacturers of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) want the metal. EV sales—and likewise, cobalt demand— could grow a lot more. Yet, cobalt may not remain critical for decades to come. EV buyers, battery manufacturers and miners fear the high prices and disrupted supply, as well as human right abuses, environmental destruction, corruption, and political risk. As with other critical minerals, industries are seeking to use less of the metal. The time available for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries to benefit from mining the metal may be short-lived. Good governance is therefore important both for people in mining countries and for humanity to meet the Paris Climate Agreement. This report aims to help governments and their advisors in mining countries, such as the DRC, derive value from mining cobalt, develop industry along the battery-supply chains and address a host of problems from human rights abuses to corruption. The report is also for policy-makers working to ensure that the world delivers enough cobalt in time for the global energy transition.
Topic:
Natural Resources, Energy, Green Transition, and Cobalt
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo

2. 2021 Resource Governance Index

Author:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Decisions about how the oil, gas and mining sectors are governed determine the wellbeing of the billion people living in poverty in resource-rich countries. Where policies and practices ensure informed, inclusive and accountable decision making, natural resources can enable fair, prosperous and sustainable societies, rather than undermine them. The climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and dramatic changes in global energy markets have increased the stakes of good governance. Complex decisions about how to enable the political and economic adaptations necessary for a managed phaseout of fossil fuels and responsible increase in production of transition minerals sit at the heart of this dual crisis. Governance of the oil, gas and mining sectors will play a central role in the transition away from fossil fuels and the return to progress against poverty. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) produces the Resource Governance Index (RGI) as a diagnostic tool to measure the governance of oil, gas, and mining sectors in select countries and to highlight opportunities for policy and practice reforms at the global, regional and country levels. The 2021 RGI assesses the governance of extractive sectors in 18 countries, including both established mineral and hydrocarbon producers, as well as new and prospective entrants to natural resource production.
Topic:
Oil, Natural Resources, Governance, Gas, Mining, Sustainability, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Central Asia, Middle East, Mongolia, Colombia, South America, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Tanzania, Mexico, Senegal, Nigeria, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, Peru, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, and Democratic Republic of Congo

3. Big Sellers: Exploring the Scale and Risk of National Oil Company Sales

Author:
Alexander Malden and Joseph Williams
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
In many oil-producing countries, the national oil company (NOC) sells vast quantities of the state’s oil and gas. The sale of a state’s non-renewable natural resource endowment is often a revenue stream that can have a significant impact on a country’s national budget and the state’s ability to fulfil its national development priorities. It is important therefore that citizens are able to assess the performance of their NOCs, who they sell state assets to, under what terms they sell them and what they do with the resulting sales revenue. In this briefing the authors use data from NRGI’s new National Oil Company database to examine the governance and corruption risks posed by NOC’s oil sales activities. Using this newly compiled data including over $1.5 trillion in oil sales from 39 NOCs in 35 countries, they found that: The sale of oil is an economically significant activity for many countries. The oil, gas and product sales of 35 countries’ national oil companies (NOCs) to commodity traders and other buyers generated over $1.5 trillion in 2016, equaling 22 percent of these countries’ total government revenues. Most NOCs only pass on a small percentage of their oil sales revenue to government treasuries. NOCs from the 30 countries for which data are available transferred just 22 percent of their revenue to the country’s national treasury. This results in NOCs managing huge public revenues in environments that lack basic transparency, accountability and good governance practices. Seventy-nine percent of the identifiable oil sales, or $1.2 trillion, occurred in countries with “weak” or “poor” scores in the 2017 Resource Governance Index. While oil sales disclosure has improved in countries which are part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), non-EITI countries generated over 90 percent of the identifiable NOC oil sales revenue, or $1.4 trillion. This briefing also presents case studies from the Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ecuador of ways oil sales data, where available, has been used to scrutinize NOCs’ commercial performance and to hold them accountable for the revenue generated when selling the state’s oil.
Topic:
Civil Society, Government, Oil, and Business
Political Geography:
Africa, South America, Nigeria, Ecuador, and Democratic Republic of Congo