Practical Guides for Communities, Civil Society and Local Government on Oil, Gas and Mining

“With little or no access to relevant information and technical advice, limited public participation and weak organization, local communities confronted with the arrival of oil, gas and mining companies often cannot realistically assess the potential risks or advantages that a project might bring to their community.”

Cordaid has published two guides which are designed to help local communities, civil society organisations, local governments, and companies to better manage and coordinate the potential benefits and contributions that oil, gas, and mining projects can bring to local communities. Developed to support Cordaid’s extractives work in Africa, the guides seek to improve dialogue and prevent misunderstandings in the development of oil and gas projects. Cordaid believes that “strengthening local communities through information-sharing, skills development and meaningful, multi-stakeholder dialogue will help to ensure that oil, gas and mining projects, if accepted by the communities, benefit ordinary citizens. Local communities must be enabled to develop and express their own vision for a sustainable future, and to understand the structure of the extractives industry, the national legal and policy framework, and the international normative frameworks and practices.”

The guides are specifically designed for facilitators and trainers wanting to raise awareness of local communities in oil, gas, and mineral producing regions. The two guides are meant to be used in conjunction with each other -  with one focusing more on the technical aspects of oil and gas, and the other focusing more on the social aspects such as company structures; community organisation; potential impacts of oil, gas and mining production; and community-company engagement strategies. 

A brief description of each guide follows:

Informing Local Communities, Civil Society and Local Government about Oil and Gas - A Practical Guide on Technical Aspects (February 2016)
The technical guide covers basic technical aspects of the petroleum industry; mainly the upstream sector (related to licensing), with a general overview of downstream activities (related to exploration). It provides a brief introduction to oil and gas formation and how oil companies get permission to carry out activities. This is followed by how companies search for oil and gas; carry out development, get the oil out of the ground and terminate the project. Finally, the impact of the industry on the environment is described, with a specific focus on the common challenges encountered by local communities living within oil-producing regions.

It is expected that by using this guide, local communities, civil society organisations, and local governments will acquire a basic understanding of the operations of the oil and gas industry, and thereby be able to engage oil companies and government more effectively and constructively. Having better-informed communities will help to reduce understandings and/or suspicion, manage expectations, and build trust and confidence between the key stakeholders of oil and gas projects (i.e. communities, civil society, government and companies). 

When Oil, Gas or Mining Arrives in Your Area - Practical Guide for Communities, Civil Society and Local Government on the Social Aspect of Oil, Gas and Mining (October 2016)
The overall goal of this guide is to enable local communities affected by oil, gas, and mining projects to carry out constructive, peaceful engagement and negotiation with companies and government, with the aim of achieving sustainable development and improved quality of life. The key objectives are: 1) to increase the level of knowledge about the social aspects of oil, gas, and mining projects among local community representatives, in particular villagers and pastoralists – including elders, women, and youth – as well as civil society and local government representatives; 2) to help local communities and civil society organisations to better understand how to organise themselves and represent their views and interests effectively within a constructive dialogue and negotiation process with government and companies; and 3) to provide local communities, civil society and local government representatives with an overview of key sources of information and relevant support organisations for further assistance with regard to constructive community–company engagement.