Journal of Law and Criminal Justice

National Oil Companies in Africa, and How They may Improve Their Competitiveness
Pereowei Subai, Ebizi B. Eradiri

Abstract
Several national oil companies (NOCs) in Africa grapple with corruption, nepotism, indebtedness, and operational inefficiency, which impinge on their overall performances. Keen to overturn some of these challenges, some petroleum rich countries on the continent have of late, sought to reform their NOCs, as part of sector wide reforms in a bid to make them more efficient, plug leakages, and streamline their operations. Notable among these countries are Nigeria, and Angola, Africa‟s top crude oil producers. This article examines some of these initiatives, and enquires into whether they are significant enough to address the fundamental issues confronting NOCs on the continent. Drawing lessons from countries such as Norway and Brazil, it will contend that there is a nexus between NOC privatisation, petroleum sector liberalisation, and internal reforms, with NOC performance. To that end, it argues that African NOCs will benefit immensely if their owners apply these strategies, although within localised contexts, and concludes by making insightful suggestions on how African NOCs may improve their overall competitiveness.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jlcj.v7n2a2