Oil and Gas: A Blessing or A Curse?

Monday, January 5th, 2009

A “paradox of plenty” and “resource curse” have become two most commonly used phrases to describe the impact of oil wealth on the economies of producing countries. Why does prosperity from oil all too often fail to provide a sustainable base for economic development and poverty reduction? This note summarizes the findings of various studies [...]

Oil contracts remain a “mystery”

Friday, December 26th, 2008

French-owned petrochemical giant TOTAL and Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation are likely to reach an agreement with the Cambodian government soon to drill offshore oil in the Kingdom. However, Te Doung Dara, secretary general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, declined to comment on media that the companies were close to signing drilling contracts for [...]