Emerging evidence shows that increasing transparency and public engagement in government contracting is a powerful way to craft better public deals, improve public services, deter fraud and corruption, build trust and promote a more competitive business environment. Deals in the oil, gas and mining sectors may be worth billions of dollars over decades. Yet, there is surprisingly little systematic guidance for ensuring transparency in allocating and managing the rights to explore for and exploit natural resources. This report aims to address that gap by shining a light on global good practices that will be useful for regulators, oversight actors and transparency advocates, including those working to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard or to develop Open Government Partnership (OGP) national action plans. So far, few countries have been able to effectively present information about the diverse elements of regulation in the extractive industries. Most information is disconnected, scattered across a range of agency silos and often uses very different data standards (if any). If there are public disclosures, they tend to be geared toward industry needs, with little consideration of what citizens might want or need to better understand the industry and contribute to its improved functioning. It doesn’t have to be this way. We found several examples of better practice from around the world where more systematic approaches have enabled citizens to better understand and, where appropriate, engage with rights allocation and managment processes. These efforts were not only good for government efficiency but appear to help with business engagement, competition and civic trust as well. While many of these examples came from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, we also found good practices in countries at the frontiers of resource exploration and production, such as Lebanon, Sierra Leone and the Philippines.

Open Contracting for Oil, Gas and Mineral Rights: Shining a Light on Good Practice

Resource Key: G5PZ4777

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • OCP-NRGI

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place:

Institution: OCP (Open Contracting Partnership) & NRGI (Natural Resource Governance Institute)

Date: 2018

Language:

Emerging evidence shows that increasing transparency and public engagement in government contracting is a powerful way to craft better public deals, improve public services, deter fraud and corruption, build trust and promote a more competitive business environment. Deals in the oil, gas and mining sectors may be worth billions of dollars over decades. Yet, there is surprisingly little systematic guidance for ensuring transparency in allocating and managing the rights to explore for and exploit natural resources. This report aims to address that gap by shining a light on global good practices that will be useful for regulators, oversight actors and transparency advocates, including those working to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard or to develop Open Government Partnership (OGP) national action plans. So far, few countries have been able to effectively present information about the diverse elements of regulation in the extractive industries. Most information is disconnected, scattered across a range of agency silos and often uses very different data standards (if any). If there are public disclosures, they tend to be geared toward industry needs, with little consideration of what citizens might want or need to better understand the industry and contribute to its improved functioning. It doesn’t have to be this way. We found several examples of better practice from around the world where more systematic approaches have enabled citizens to better understand and, where appropriate, engage with rights allocation and managment processes. These efforts were not only good for government efficiency but appear to help with business engagement, competition and civic trust as well. While many of these examples came from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, we also found good practices in countries at the frontiers of resource exploration and production, such as Lebanon, Sierra Leone and the Philippines.

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