A number of countries have recently discovered and are developing oil and gas reserves. Policy makers in such countries are anxious to obtain the greatest benefits for their economies from the extraction of these exhaustible resources by designing appropriate policies to achieve desired goals. One important theme of such policies is the so-called local content created by the sector—the extent to which the output of the extractive industry sector generates further benefits to the economy beyond the direct contribution of its value-added, through its links to other sectors. While local content policies have the potential to stimulate broad-based economic development, their application in petroleum-rich countries has achieved mixed results. This paper describes the policies and practices meant to foster the development of economic linkages from the petroleum sector, as adopted by a number of petroleum-producing countries both in and outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Examples of policy objectives, implementation tools, and reporting metrics are provided to derive lessons of wider applicability. The paper presents various conclusions for policy makers about the design of local content policies.

Local Content in Procurement is the first book of its kind. Recognizing the substantial economic and social value brought to host countries and local communities through the procurement practices of large private and public companies, this book by Dr Michael Warner – Director of the consultancy firm Local Content Solutions and former architect of the Local Content standards for BG Group – provides a first-hand account of the Local Content regulations, strategies and procurement processes needed to realise these social benefits. Acknowledging that the employment and industrial benefits of large-scale procurement have been sorely overlooked, this book is both a how-to manual and a thoughtful insight into the challenge of creating sustainable jobs and competitive national industries through expenditure on bought-in goods and services. With literally trillions of dollars of goods and services being procured over the next ten years in exploring and developing for oil, gas and mineral resources across the globe, the book focuses on these sectors, yet also has wide application to the utilities, construction, infrastructure, manufacturing and defence sectors. Local Content in Procurement has been written for those working for the procurement, strategy and social responsibility departments of major private and public companies and international suppliers, for industrial and economic policy-makers and regulators of local content, and for all those involved in the management of procurement expenditure to develop national and local industries.

This paper examines how local content and procurement requirements have evolved in the MENA region. It provides a comparative analysis and profile of LCRs in MENA countries, in order to determine prevailing preferences and legal risk points. It concludes with recommendations on how investors and national authorities can evolve collaborative and achievable LCRs that minimise disputes and legal risks.

In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008–09, economists feared that protectionist policies might sweep the world economy, echoing the wave of tariff escalations during the Great Depression of the 1930s. To some surprise, officials were more restrained and largely avoided traditional forms of protection (tariffs and quotas). As a result, economists underestimated the incidence of new protectionism because policymakers increasingly turned to more opaque behind-the-border nontariff barriers (NTBs). Using a combination of statistical analysis and case studies, the authors show that local content requirements (LCRs), a form of NTB, have become increasingly popular. How much was global trade actually reduced on account of LCRs? A conservative estimate might be $93 billion. Case studies featured cover the healthcare sector in Brazil, wind turbines in Canada, the automobile industry in China, solar cells and modules in India, oil and gas in Nigeria, and "Buy American" restrictions on government procurement.

Examines critical links between local content requirements and the application of sustainable development treaties in global energy markets.

The book provides a systematic examination of the legal, fiscal and institutional frameworks for the commercial development of petroleum and solid mineral resources in Africa. First, it considers the values, assumptions, and guiding principles underpinning legislation and governance in Africa’s extractive sector. It then provides detailed and comparative evaluations of regulatory frameworks, pricing, local content, procurement, sales, and contractual arrangements across African extractive industries. Further, the book assesses how questions of business and human rights risks, accountability, corporate social responsibility, waste and pollution control, environmental justice, and participatory development have been addressed to date, and how they could be addressed better in the future. Enhancing readers’ understanding of the geography, sources and scope of extractive resources in Africa, the book explains how corporations can effectively identify, mitigate and prevent legal and business risks when investing in African extractive industries. Lastly, it discusses the innovative legal strategies and tools needed to achieve a sustainable and rights-based extractive industry.Written in a user-friendly style, the book offers a valuable resource for corporations, investors, environmental and human rights administrators, advocates, policymakers, judges, international negotiators, government officials and consultants who advise on, or are interested in, petroleum and solid mineral investments in Africa. It also offers students and researchers an authoritative guidebook to the current state of extractive industry laws and institutions in Africa. Numerous examples of how international legal norms could be used to help revitalize the underlying legal and fiscal regimes in African extractive industries – to make them more robust, accountable, sustainable and rights-based – round out the coverage

Highlights what national governments should know to properly conduct their industrial policies under the multilateral trading system.

High prices and concerns about energy security in the oil and gas industry are driving expansion into ever more sensitive environments with greater technoological, political and social risks.While brands such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are well known, some 70 per cent of oil and gas industry activities are typically contracted out to service providers and their subcontractors. The fallout from the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster has shone a spotlight on alleged systemic failures and ongoing difficulties in contracting relationships. As the governments of oil producing countries - from Nigeria to Kazakhstan to Venezuela - seek to take greater control of their oil and gas resources, there are pressures to expand the role of local businesses in chains of contractors. Government targets for local hiring and procurement paper draws on three years of research and interviews within the oil and gas sector to highlight an array of critical challenges facing oil and gas companies involved in complex supply chains, and to identify urgent and longer-term actions for progress.

This is the first book that explores whether there are any rules in international law applicable to unilateral sanctions and if so, what they are. The book examines both the lawfulness of unilateral sanctions and the limitations within which they should operate. In doing so, it includes an analysis of State practice, the provisions of various international legal instruments dealing with such sanctions and their impact on other areas of international law such as freedom of navigation, aviation and transit, and the principles of international trade, investment, regional economic integration, and the protection of human rights and the environment. This study finds that unilateral sanctions by a state or a group of states against another state as opposed to 'smart' or targeted sanctions of limited scope would be unlawful, unless they meet the procedural and substantive requirements stipulated in international law. Importantly, the book identifies and consolidates these requirements scattered in different areas of international law, including the additional rules of customary international law that have emerged out of the recent practice of States and that increase the limitations on the use of unilateral sanctions.