Strategies of African national oil companies
The study and comparison of different National Oil Companies (NOC) help understanding the political history of Algeria, Nigeria and Angola. The NOC’s role and activities depend on several economic and political aspects. For example, Angolan Sonangol has been the coffer for the Popular Movement of Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party to fund its struggle against the National Union for the Independence of Angola (UNITA) party during civil war.
Hence the key role played by this NOC in the past and its continuing key influence today. In Nigeria, The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) became more and more bureaucratic, its efficiency is questionable as the company became the epicentre of the corruption in the country (several cases regarding billions of dollars have emerged recently). By contrast, Algeria’s Sonatrach has accumulated a real know how in exploring and producing oil and gas but several successive laws discouraged private sector investments. Algeria doesn’t have the necessary technology for unconventional oil and gas exploration (notably shale oil and gas), neither the funds to develop all its huge geological potential.
This content is available in French only: Les stratégies des compagnies pétrolières nationales africaines
Author(s)
Benjamin AUGÉ
Chercheur associé, Centre Afrique subsaharienne / Centre énergie et climat de l'Ifri
