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| | | Title | WHY IS THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY SO BAD AT SUPPORTING AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT A Case Study of Oil and Gas Extraction in Tanzania | | Author | ACBF | | Subject | PETROLEUM INDUSTRY | | Date of Publication | 2017072 | | Publisher | African Community of Practice on Management for Development result at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) | | Number of Pages | 8 pages | | Language | English | | Geographical Coverage | Tanzania | | Keywords | Oil and Gas Extraction in Tanzania | | Abstract | Over the past decade, petroleum resources have become a crucial area for mobilizing domestic resources. Tanzania, for example, has put in place strategies on natural gas so that its derivatives can become key drivers in the nation’s objectives to becoming a middle-income nation, as iterated in Tanzania Vision 2025. This study evaluates some of the issues of petroleum exploration and production and trade in Africa, more specifically: gas industry reform in Tanzania, good governance, and the current capacities of institutions and technical experts to handle the arriving behemoth. Key findings. Studies found that the majority of people felt uncomfortable about how natural resources are managed in Tanzania and were concerned about access to reliable information on governance and policies related to extraction. The public does not have, in fact, access to information on the magnitude of and revenues from the nation’s natural resources: the mining companies have been and are the only gatekeepers of such information and there is no mechanism to verify the veracity of the information provided to the country. Further, the insufficient capacity of national institutions to address the challenges related to the oil and gas industry has contributed to the ineffectiveness of the government in supervising the operations and foreign direct investments in the industry. Key lessons. By virtue of its size and enormous resources for investment, extractives industry can easily overwhelm a developing country that has not previously built its own internal capacity. This requires foresight, investment, and political will – and the determination to do everything possible to eliminate corruption in the whole extraction sector. It is also important for any country to diversify its economy to avoid an imbalanced reliance on any single extractive industry, especially one that can be as volatile as oil and gas. Key recommendations. The government should give consideration to hiring its own foreign expertise to help develop the capacity needed through a comprehensive approach that includes advising; helping negotiate with the major industry players; and designing a full package of regulatory and control mechanisms that will help Tanzania operate on a level playing field in order to build a strong industry to serve the nation. African Capacity Building Foundation should develop programs to enhance the capacity of nationals, so that within a prescribed, reasonable time-frame African people can manage and fully control the exploitation of their natural resources. | | Copyright Holder | African Community of Practice (AfCoP) | | Copyright URL | http://www.acbf-pact.org | | Filesize | 539698 MB | | File Format | PDF | | [ View / download original document ] |
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