Beyond the Rhetoric: Measuring Revenue Transparency - home government requirements for disclosure in the oil and gas industries

Oil and gas companies have generated enormous wealth. But rather than improving the lives of ordinary people, these revenues have often fuelled wars and corruption, weakened economic development and worsened poverty. Children are the most vulnerable to the devastating impact of these conflicts and the resulting chronic under-investment in health and education.

There has been growing recognition that the way to improve the responsible use of these revenues is to increase the accountability of governments and companies.This has resulted in initiatives such as the Publish What You Pay campaign and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

‘Home’ countries are those where oil and gas companies are registered or raising capital. These governments can play a key role by requiring companies to publish the payments they make to governments in each country in which they operate. Many home governments, including the G8, have made statements in support of improved revenue transparency. But beyond the rhetoric, what are they doing to make this happen?

This report focuses on home government performance in supporting revenue transparency by oil and gas companies. It compares the regulatory policies and practice of ten countries, identifying the leaders and the laggards. It presents a measurement framework that points the way towards a ‘gold standard’ for such regulation.

It should be seen in conjunction with a second report, Company performance in the oil and gas industries, which applies a similar framework to oil and gas companies.