This book gives a comprehensive overview of Ghana’s hydrocarbon economy using actor network and assemblage theories to contest the methodological nationalism of mainstream accounts of the resource curse in resource-rich countries. Drawing upon recent field research focused on Ghana’s oil and gas sector and utilizing the theoretical framework of actor network theory, the authors contend that there is an assemblage of political, economic, social and environmental networks, processes, actions, actors, and structures of power that coalesce to determine the extent to which the country’s hydrocarbon resources could be regarded as a "curse" or "blessing." This framing facilitates a better understanding of the variety (and duality) of local and global forces and power structures at play in Ghana’s growing hydrocarbon industry. Giving a nuanced and multi-perspectival analysis of the factors that underlie oil-engendered development in Ghana, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of African political economy, development and the politics of resource extraction.

This book explores how Ghana has managed its newfound oil wealth and utilised the revenues to drive inclusive economic growth and development after ten years of oil and gas extraction. This is particularly poignant given that some of Ghana's neighbours and peers that have been producing oil and gas for several decades continue to suffer from the 'resource curse' or 'paradox of plenty syndrome'. Topics covered in the book include upstream licensing and contracting, regulatory regimes and institutional capacity, fiscal regimes, maritime border delimitation, and national oil company operations. Others include social inequities and injustice of Ghana's oil and gas, fiscal policy and revenue administration, local content, developing gas markets, and the potential impact of the energy transition. The book is a compilation of leading work on petroleum resource management practices in an emerging petroleum-producing country context. Petroleum Resource Management in Africa provides policymakers, industry and academia with a comprehensive distillation and synthesis of the operational context and the lessons learned from ten years of oil and gas in Ghana. At the same time, the findings in this book are articulated into a comprehensive series of core recommendations that serve as an international reference on Africa's upstream oil and gas industry. It will be of interest to anyone interested in resource and development economics. Theophilus Acheampong is Associate Lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow at the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF), The University of Aberdeen, and also an Associate Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), The University of Dundee. He is also co-Founder of the iRIS Research Consortium, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at Ghanaian Think Tank IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, all based in Accra, Ghana. Thomas Kojo Stephens is a Senior Partner at Stobe Law in Accra, Ghana, and the Head of the Transactional, Oil and Gas Practice, as well as the Consultancy Group of the firm. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Energy Law Advisory Group (IELAG), a Principal Trainer at the International Energy Law Training and Research Company (IELTRC), and a former Vice-Chairman of Ghana's Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), a statutory body with oversight over the use of Ghana's petroleum revenue. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law.

Multidisciplinary perspectives to governance of oil in African countries Large quantities of oil were discovered in the Albertine Rift Valley in Western Uganda in 2006. The sound management of these oil resources and revenues is undoubtedly one of the key public policy challenges for Uganda as it is for other African countries with large oil and/or gas endowments. With oil expected to start flowing in 2021, the current book analyses how this East African country is preparing for the challenge of effectively, efficiently, and transparently managing its oil sector and resources. Adopting a multidisciplinary, comprehensive, and comparative approach, the book identifies a broad scope of issues that need to be addressed in order for Uganda to realise the full potential of its oil wealth for national economic transformation. Predominantly grounded in local scholarship and including chapters drawing on the experiences of Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, the book blazes a trail on governance of African oil in an era of emerging producers. Oil Wealth and Development in Uganda and Beyond will be of great interest to social scientists and economic and social policy makers in oil-producing countries. It is suitable for course adoption across such disciplines as International/Global Affairs, Political Economy, Geography, Environmental Studies, Economics, Energy Studies, Development, Politics, Peace, Security and African Studies. Contributors: Badru Bukenya (Makerere University), Moses Isabirye (Busitema University), Wilson Bahati Kazi (Uganda Revenue Authority), Corti Paul Lakuma (Economic Policy Research Centre), Joseph Mawejje (Economic Policy Research Centre), Pamela Mbabazi (Uganda National Planning Authority), Martin Muhangi (independent researcher), Roberts Muriisa (Mbarara University of Science and Technology), Chris Byaruhanga Musiime (independent researcher), Germano Mwabu (University of Nairobi), Jackson A. Mwakali (Makerere University), Tom Owang (Mbarara University of Science and Technology), Joseph Oloka-Onyango (Makerere University), Peter Quartey (University of Ghana), Peter Wandera (Transparency International Uganda), Kathleen Brophy (Transparency International Uganda), Jaqueline Nakaiza (independent researcher), Babra Beyeza (independent researcher), Jackson Byaruhanga (Bank of Uganda), Emmanuel Abbey (University of Ghana).

This book focuses on the history, key industry and policy actors, and political economic outcomes in oil-producing African states, filling a gap in the literature on resource-abundant countries by providing an optimistic assessment of circumstances in contemporary Africa.

Oil exploration in the developing world has been and continues to be a high profile and high risk activity attracting media coverage and stimulating much debate. In Governance of the Petroleum Sector in an Emerging Developing Economy, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu has assembled an edited volume that provides insight into critical aspects of this highly sensitive activity. Professor Appiah-Adu’s starting point is Ghana, where he has been closely involved in national policy-making. The book makes comparisons between that African country and others as diverse as Trinidad and Tobago, and Norway. The contributors, global experts in their respective fields, explore five critical themes and propose strategies for progress in each. You will find an in-depth analysis relating to: turning oil and gas wealth into sustainable and equitable development; entrenching transparency and stakeholder engagement; effective management of the oil and gas sector; and safeguarding security and the environment. Finally, country specific models and lessons, particularly for Ghana and other African oil producing nations, are offered. This book serves as reference for business practitioners, policy makers, scholars, students and anyone interested in gaining insight into the oil and gas sector, particularly as it pertains to Ghana and other African petroleum producing nations, with lessons drawn from the global arena and international best practice.

Oil to Cash explores one option to help countries with new oil revenue avoid the so-called resource curse: just give the money directly to citizens. A universal, transparent, and regular cash transfer would not only provide a concrete benefit to regular people, but would also create powerful incentives for citizens to hold their government accountable. Oil to Cash details how and where this idea could work and how policymakers can learn from the experiences with cash transfers in places like Mexico, Mongolia, and Alaska.

Based on true events, a story of courage, forgiveness, love, and freedom in precolonial Ghana, told through the eyes of two women born to vastly different fates. Aminah lives an idyllic life until she is brutally separated from her home and forced on a journey that transforms her from a daydreamer into a resilient woman. Wurche, the willful daughter of a chief, is desperate to play an important role in her father's court. These two women's lives converge as infighting among Wurche's people threatens the region, during the height of the slave trade at the end of the nineteenth century. Through the experiences of Aminah and Wurche, The Hundred Wells of Salaga offers a remarkable view of slavery and how the scramble for Africa affected the lives of everyday people.