Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 11/5/2007
Oil development in Africa: Lessons for Sudan after the comprehensive peace agreement
2007
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract
In 1999, Sudan shipped its first barrel of oil to the international market. It did so with one civil war painfully continuing between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, unrest threatening the petroleum pathway along the pipeline route in the East, and a growing conflict in the western province of Darfur. This was not a rare occurrence in Africa. Nigeria and Angola had experienced the paradoxical duality of the economic progression of oil development; a one-sided affair simply benefiting the ruling elite, while the majority of the population suffered civil war and unrelenting poverty. However, unlike previous cases of the ‘resource curse’ in Africa, what seems to be a growing trend took shape in Sudan with the engagement of Asian investors, particularly China, in the development of its oil industry. While Asian investment initially took place alongside Western oil companies, state-owned enterprises from China, Malaysia, and India later came to dominate the sector. Nonetheless, whether this investment will deviate from the historical norm of fuelling civil war and underdevelopment has yet to be seen.
In three separate papers, this DIIS Report explores the ‘resource curse’ dimensions of oil development in Nigeria and Angola, and draws lessons for the evolving postconflict setting of Sudan. It highlights the role of China in armed conflict, post-war reconstruction, and the peace process in Sudan, as well as elsewhere in Africa. The report is a product of an academic conference on oil in Sudan following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and represents an initial step to delve deeper into how Sudan can learn from its African counterparts in ensuring oil represents a positive influence to peace and development and to avoid adding further weight to the cruel standard of oil development in Africa.
