This report reveals how oil and mining assets worth a staggering $4bn have been allocated to companies whose ownership is obscure. In Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, lucrative oil and mining licences were awarded to companies with hidden owners, diverting vast resource revenues to unknown private pockets. In a fourth country, Republic of Congo, a company whose beneficiaries remain uncertain – and which has historical connections to high ranking public officials - has recently received lucrative stakes in several oil fields. These deals deprive states of revenue that should be spent on education, health care and basic services for some of the most impoverished people on the planet.
The report comes ahead of a pivotal meeting of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard that promotes greater transparency throughout the value chain in the oil, gas and mining industries. At a meeting in Berne on 21-22 October 2015, the EITI International Board will decide whether to make disclosure of the true owners of oil, gas and mining companies a requirement on all 48 countries involved in the initiative.
It is now time for the EITI to show leadership and follow through on its commitment to shine a light on anonymous oil, gas and mining companies.
Join the movement to end company secrecy
You might also like
-
Oil, Gas & MiningBriefingShell and Eni's Misadventures in Nigeria
In 2011, Shell and Eni paid US$1.1bn for one of West Africa’s largest oil fields, situated off the coast of Nigeria, but the money did not benefit the country’s citizens.
-
Oil, Gas & MiningBriefingThe Turn Towards Transparency
Global movement to end the corruption that blights resource-rich countries is gathering pace.
-
Oil, Gas & MiningReportThe EITI and Global Witness
When launched in 2001, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was a remarkable global multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on a critical global development issue: how to make sure that the billions of dollars of oil and mining wealth flowing into national budgets is better tracked and managed.
