Financial Transparency Coalition

It’s an interesting time for east Africa. Until recently, no one believed it had much energy wealth at all—6 billion barrels, tops, compared to its western counterpart, which boasts at least 60. But the times they are a-changin’. At the end of last month, Kenya sent the world and the markets a buzz when the government announced Canada’s Africa Oil Corp discovered oil in the northern region of Turkana. Given the geographical proximity and similarities, this discoverey also has implications for Ethiopia. And additional discoveries have already been made in neighboring Tanzania and Mozambique. The oil strike in Turkana does...

This post is the second part of a two-post series. The first post, on the economic costs of Section 1504, is available here. Embedded into the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act–also known as the “financial overhaul bill”—was Section 1504, which will require companies listed on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose payments to governments for oil, gas, and mining. The American Petroleum Industry (API), a U.S. trade association for the oil and gas industry, is pushing back against this provision. In a letter to the SEC, API claims Section 1504 defies Executive Order 13563, which Obama signed...

In July of last year President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act–also known as the “financial overhaul bill”—into law. Embedded into the Dodd-Frank Act was Section 1504, which required companies listed on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose payments to governments for oil, gas, and mining. Under these provisions, companies would provide this information in their SEC filings and it would be publicly available. Unsurprisingly, the American Petroleum Industry (API), a U.S. trade association for the oil and gas industry, is pushing back. In a letter to the SEC, API claims Section 1504 defies Executive...

The yawning gap between the transparency rhetoric of companies and the reality of their actions has never been more apparent than it is now.