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Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector |
A joint Chatham House - CEPMLP Project
Between 2005 and 2007, the Energy, Environment and Development Programme at Chatham House led a major initiative on Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector. Our aim was to provide producing country governments with guidelines and benchmarks on managing their hydrocarbon resources for the greatest socio-economic benefit. This was the first producer-centred initiative, in which government and national oil company decision-makers have been able to identify governance challenges and share best practice. Other participants, whose support for national good governance is vital, included international oil companies, multilateral and private financing agencies and concerned non profit making organisations.
Project Outputs
Good Governance Workshop Series
The Good Governance panel of experts brought together participants from over 20 oil and gas producing countries for a series of three high-level intensive workshops. At the first workshop, participants formed a consensus on principles which should guide governance in the sector: clarity of roles and responsibilities, enablement, transparency, accountability and sustainability. The second workshop was based around producing-country case studies, giving insights into practical experience of governance in each of these five areas. Throughout both workshops, participants emphasized the importance of the national context on systems of governance. The third and final workshop compared current governance conditions with country aspirations and identified ways to move up the good governance curve under varying political, economic and organizational conditions. More information >>
Good Governance Reports
The project's conclusions are summarized in Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector. This document presents five universally applicable principles and forty benchmarks to help producers assess their systems of governance. The more detailed report, Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector, provides examples from country case studies and offers context-specific checklists and guidance for the petroleum sector policy- or strategy-maker. The report is intended as a 'living text' for good governance debates around the world, and can be revised to reflect future discussions and comments from petroleum sector stakeholders.
The results of this project have since been drawn upon by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), an arm of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to form its own Petroleum Sector Governance Check-List. This and other relevant resources can be found on Norad's Oil for Development website. View >>
Future Workshops
The Good Governance team is able to facilitate ad-hoc workshops in oil and gas producing countries whereby they share project findings and enable participants to draw on international experience to address the challenges of their own petroleum sector.
In May 2009, experts from Chatham House's project on Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector in Timor-Leste facilitated a discussion on how the South-East Asian state could set up a national oil company in keeping with best practice. Associate Fellow Dr Valerie Marcel and Senior Research Fellow Professor Paul Stevens joined with major stakeholders in Timor-Leste's petroleum sector, representatives from established national oil companies and experts on governance issues to debate the governance challenges in the sector and draw from international experience to identify solutions. More information and presentations >>
Publications
- Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector
Chatham House Document
Glada Lahn, Valérie Marcel, John Mitchell, Keith Myers, Paul Stevens, March 2007
- Good Governance of the Petroleum Sector
Chatham House Report
Glada Lahn, Dr Valérie Marcel, John Mitchell, Dr Keith Myers, Paul Stevens, April 2007
- Good Governance of the National Petroleum Sector
Chatham House and CEPMLP Interim Report
Edited by Keith Myers and Glada Lahn; contributions from Valerie Marcel, John Mitchell, Willy Olsen and Paul Stevens, December 2005
Recent Events
Timor Leste Good Governance workshop
May 2009
Workshop Summary
Additional Resources
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) Oil for Development >>
The World Bank's Oil, Gas and Mining Sustainable Community Development Fund (CommDev) >>
Contact
To find out more about this project, please contact:
Professor Paul Stevens, Senior Research Fellow, EEDP
+44 (0)20 7314 3618
Email Paul Stevens
Glada Lahn, Research Fellow, EEDP
+44 (0)20 7957 5750
Email Glada Lahn
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