Civil Society must play a role in Govt. to Govt. negotiations on natural resources – Int’l body

Mar 05, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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Kaieteur News – The involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) is crucial in state-to-state negotiations for mineral exploitation. These citizens can not only add a layer of expertise in decision-making for the country’s natural resources, but serve as an accountability mechanism.

Highlighting the importance of CSOs in these transactions in a recent article was the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), a non-profit corporation focused on the prudent management of natural resources in resource-rich countries for the wellbeing of citizens and the planet. NRGI’s governing board comprises experts in a wide range of sectors, including governance, finance, agriculture and oil and gas.

Delving into ‘Deals Without Details: Exploring State-State Mining Partnerships and Their Implications’ the Institute shared how resource-rich countries around the world were partnering for mineral exploration, production and processing.

It said such next-generation state-state mineral partnerships have become a key tool for wealthier jurisdictions such as the United States and European Union (EU), often the “buying partners”. Many questions however remain around such partnerships, including on their overall purpose and value for lower- and middle-income mineral-rich countries, referred to as “supplying partners”.

These deals are usually struck for the buying countries to secure the minerals needed for the solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles to aid in the transition from fossil fuels but also in some cases are geared towards supplementing their own mineral production, the Institute explained.

In the absence of publicly available information about these partnerships, scrutiny has been difficult. This results in little accountability, even though contract disclosure is a well-established norm in the sector, NRGI said.

The Natural Resource Governance Institute said for instance, “While some memoranda of understanding have been made public, such as those signed by the European Union, these documents are scant on details despite sometimes taking months to negotiate. Others, such as those recently signed by Saudi Arabia at its January Future Minerals Forum, remain a mystery. We couldn’t find any publicly available information about 22 of the 35 partnerships of which we’re aware.”

To this end, NRGI pointed to the need for civil society’s involvement in the negotiation of such deals.

“Countries should facilitate the input of CSOs in decision-making around partnership negotiations. CSOs can serve both as a source of expertise and an accountability mechanism, to ensure that the supplying partner gets the most out of the partnership.”

Additionally, the Institute noted that CSOs can help define strategic priorities; play a key role in monitoring whether activities advance the country’s economic and social development plans and meet international standards set out by bodies such as the UN and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and strengthen calls for a more equitable partnership.

The body was keen to note, “Because parties to these agreements aim to increase activity in the sector, they may exacerbate potential harms of mining, such as corruption, human rights abuses and environmental damage. To ensure benefits for people in mining countries, governments must mitigate these risks.”

It said countries with the natural resources could ensure strong due diligence practices are built into the partnership, require capacity building and technical assistance to strengthen the content and implementation of environmental, social and governance protections, and urge prospective buying partner governments to do more to address wrongdoing by mining companies based in their jurisdictions.

Guyana and bilateral negotiations

The government of Guyana is currently not engaged in state-to-state partnerships for mineral exploitation or exploration; however, the administration has expressed its intention to engage in direct negotiations with a number of its key bilateral partners for the country’s oil blocks.

This country has become a magnet for petroleum activities, following the discovery of more than 11 billion barrels of oil in the Stabroek Block by a consortium, led by American oil major, ExxonMobil.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during Guyana’s Energy Conference in 2023 revealed that government hopes to work through a bilateral arrangement with the governments of Brazil, Qatar, India, Kuwait and others on the remaining oil blocks here.

The Alliance For Change (AFC), an Opposition party in the National Assembly had signalled its support for government to secure partnerships in exchange for the nation’s oil blocks, on the condition that all details regarding the arrangements be made public.

See more here: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2023/02/26/govt-to-govt-arrangements-for-nations-oil-blocks-must-be-made-public-khemraj-ramjattan/

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• Blocks, civil society, corruption, negotiations, oil

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