The Gulf of Guinea supplies fifteen per cent of America's oil and has recently experienced an immense inflow of investment. But why are American, European, and Asian oil companies enthusiastically committing tens of billions of dollars of long-term investment to the Gulf of Guinea's failing states, which are characterized by ruthless elites, recurrent warfare, and some of the world's most detrimental development practices?

This meeting will investigate the relat...

The Gulf of Guinea supplies fifteen per cent of America's oil and has recently experienced an immense inflow of investment. But why are American, European, and Asian oil companies enthusiastically committing tens of billions of dollars of long-term investment to the Gulf of Guinea's failing states, which are characterized by ruthless elites, recurrent warfare, and some of the world's most detrimental development practices?

This meeting will investigate the relationship between oil wealth and governance (good and bad) in the region. What effect has oil had on the process of politics in the Gulf of Guinea, what have multi-national oil companies done to try and reduce the negative effects of their business on the people of the region, and do any of these shifts towards socially responsible practises actually work?

Speakers

Dr Ricardo Soares de Oliveira - Oxford University and author of Oil and politics in the Gulf of Guinea

Prof George Frynas - Middlesex University Business School

Countries in focus: Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Ghana

Please RSVP to rsvp@royalafricansociety.org