Last night the U.S. Congress voted in favour of sweeping financial reforms which include a landmark provision requiring oil, gas and mining companies registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to publish how much they pay to foreign countries and the U.S. government.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is expected to be signed into law by President Obama next week and will give citizens of resource-rich countries essential information to hold their governments to account and ensure that natural resources generate benefits for everyone, rather than a select few.

The Coalition of Azerbaijan Non-Government Organizations “For Improving Transparency in Extractive Industries,” the PWYP-affiliated national coalition in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, the extractive sector, mainly oil and gas, accounts for 54% of GDP, and has provided the country with stable GDP growth in recent years. Perhaps it is no surprise then that Azerbaijan was among the pioneering countries to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Azerbaijan soon became an EITI “poster child,” producing regular EITI reconciliation reports and being granted compliant status at the EITI international conference held in Doha in February 2009. However, these successes were somewhat overshadowed by the delays it faced in fulfilling important conditions set by the EITI Board in granting Azerbaijan its compliant status. One of these conditions was the timely establishment of a multi-stakeholder group (MSG) to formalise civil society participation in Azerbaijan’s EITI process, a crucial element of the EITI framework.

Senate Should Pass Cardin Amendment to Financial Reform Bill

In the midst of an unfolding environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil industry is supporting secrecy and business as usual on Capitol Hill by opposing a critical amendment to the financial reform bill. The bipartisan amendment would increase financial transparency in the oil, gas, and mining industries and provide valuable information to investors in the United States and to citizens in poor countries around the world, says international humanitarian organization Oxfam America. The amendment is likely to face a floor vote this week.

The board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) today considered the status of 18 countries which were unable to meet the deadline they were given in 2008 to complete external verification of their progress under the global transparency initiative.

The EITI board rejected the option of granting a blanket extension to all countries in recognition of the need to maintain its credibility as an initiative that respects its own rules. Instead, the board granted an extension to 16 countries following a case-by-case review which teased out the specific difficulties countries have faced in meeting the deadline. Countries were granted an extension if these difficulties were judged to be exceptional and unforeseen.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) took important steps today to improve reporting and disclosure by the oil, gas and mining industries. But extractive industry experts said the proposals have been weakened by pressure from companies and have yet to clearly recommend reporting of the full information that investors and citizens need.

Many countries yet to overcome validation hurdle

Twenty out of 22 countries have not met the two-year deadline they were given in 2008 to complete external verification of their progress under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a voluntary multistakeholder initiative which aims to increase transparency of natural resource revenues. Validation, as the process is known, is a critical quality assurance mechanism which underpins the credibility of the EITI. Progress in different countries varies but a large question mark now hangs over the EITI’s effectiveness as an international standard for improving transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining industries, said global civil society coalition Publish What You Pay (PWYP) today.

Additional resources:
Chart showing progress of the 22 EITI countries with a deadline of 9 March 2010
Short guide to EITI Validation

We, representatives of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) francophone African coalitions meeting in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) from 29 January to 2 February 2010 at the PWYP Africa Francophone Workshop on the theme of “Strengthening the PWYP campaign and advocacy for greater transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources in Francophone Africa”:

With EITI announcement, Iraqi leaders make historic investment in national and regional stability

The Revenue Watch Institute today congratulated the Government of Iraq as it joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, taking a historic step toward the efficient and open management of its oil industry.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced Iraq’s EITI participation Sunday at a formal launch event in Baghdad attended by government leaders, members of Iraqi civil society and international groups, including the Revenue Watch Institute and the World Bank.

International aid agency Oxfam America filed a shareholder resolution today with Chevron calling on the California-based oil company to adopt a comprehensive policy of publicly disclosing payments made to governments where the company operates.

The resolution, filed on International Human Rights Day, aims to promote the rights of citizens in oil-rich countries by providing them with vital information about revenues coming into their countries.

From November 16-18, one hundred and fifty activists from 50 countries convened in Montreal for a three-day conference hosted by Publish What You Pay, the global campaign for transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining industries.