Black Gold, Texas Tea

Well, it’s official, I’ve sold out. I just hosted a meeting with an oil company in a 5 star safari lodge. Let me try to explain. Oil has been discovered in billion dollar amounts in Uganda and this should mean good news, however, in a developing country the contrary is usually true. The meeting I hosted was a dialogue session between the one of the oil companies and local leaders from the community where the oil has been discovered in northern Uganda. I file this exercise under the Quaker testimony of “seeing God in everyone.” We used this one to talk ourselves and others into meeting Ahmedinejad a few years ago.

I’m truly hoping it’s not too late for oil to be a good thing for Uganda. This belief goes against most of the rumors permeating the country. Rumors that leaders have their fortunes locked in. Rumors that oil profits have already been carved up between the Ugandan elites. Rumors that very powerful politicians in the north and all over the country have been able to claim ancestral lands coincidently where the oil has been discovered. This belief goes against the grain of trends of oil discovery across Africa and across the world. Lack of transparency, poor communication and investment in local communities, damage to the environment are at the top of a long list of concerns related to oil discovery.

Hold please.

Sorry, the oil tycoon just revealed the trading symbol of the oil company on the London Stock Exchange, had to write it down. Hey, I’m no dummy, I’ve been writing down the estimates. Once they get those 2 billion barrels flowing, that stock’s gonna surge. Thanks for the tip! [email me if you want to know ;)]

Ahem, as I was saying, we have to give it a try. By hosting this meeting, the company and the central government have started talking with the communities where the oil has been found. The jargon in the oil biz is seeking the “social license [of local communities] to operate.” The idea is that the bottom line profits (did I just write about bottom line profits?) will improve if the community is supportive of the development project. In the peace world (which has probably rejected me by now) we call it “conflict sensitive approaches to development.”

And it’s not too late in Uganda. The odds are stacked against a positively prosperous oil discovery. For example, there are elections in 2011 that the population is already worried about. These elections will take place before oil production begins and will most likely herald in an, albeit bumpy, victory for the current President. But it’s early days in the oil discovery world. Without production, profits have not yet been pilfered. So maybe dialogue can help.

A colleague told me a story of some villagers in the area who approached the oil trucks in Murchison national safari park with a bunch of empty jeri cans. They had come to collect the old from their land. I picture some mutation of a WFP food distribution site with sacks of corn meal replaced by oozing black oil. The community has no idea how oil works. I have no idea how oil works save references to the Beverly Hillbillies and James Dean’s Giant. Basic information campaigns in the local communities about oil could go a long way to quell rumors and fears. Hosting meetings like the one today will also help. Literally every politician, including opposition leaders was there and they were like giddy school children when we ended the meeting and finally reached the site where drilling was happening. They learned that the Ministry of Energy was drafting a bill that would include, among other things, a proposal for revenue sharing with local communities. These types of meetings will boost people’s knowledge, boost their confidence and boost their access to entrée points for advocacy and informed pressure on the government to cater to their needs. It could also help oil companies and central government get out ahead of the challenges and mistakes made of other oil rich nations, like avoiding the disastrous mistakes made by oil business in Nigeria.

So at least at this stage I try to remain positive. I believe there is an opportunity, a small one, to contribute to making this discovery less of an occasion for panic and maybe just maybe an occasion for celebration. I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll take small chances that come my way to try to make oil a good thing for Uganda. Of course today’s 5 star safari location doesn’t hurt. (I got some incredible shots of an old giraffe chilling in front of an enormous rain cloud about to burst on the way to the hotel.)