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The Impact of the Oil Industry on Local Communities in South Sudan

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The Impact of the Oil Industry on Local Communities in South Sudan The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “Development Studies” and other Master programmes. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Maren Gunnarson Fallet, May 2010 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Internet: http://www.umb.no/noragric Young girls from the village of Gaik collecting water This thesis is dedicated to Makuei; For proving that the future can be bright irrespective of the colour of the past Acknowledgements First I off all I want to thank my assistant in the field; James Makuei Gai, not only for helping me accomplish the fieldwork, but for your honestly and patience and for being a friend. I also appreciate you for sharing your story and giving me a comprehension of the situation in Sudan. Secondly I want to thank Professor Trygve Berg for helping me preparing the field-work and for facilitating a challenging time in Khartoum. I am also grateful to Trygve Berg and the NUCOOP- project for financial support. A special thank goes to my supervisor Professor Nadarajah Shanmugaratnam for fostering my interest in Sudan, and for good guidance and advices. A thank goes to the staff at Juba University and Professor Odra in particular for helping me through the formalities in Khartoum and for preparations of the fieldwork. I am also grateful to Professor Mekalilie from Upper Nile University for his efforts despite obstacles at work and at home. In the field I want to thank the commissioner of Guit County and his wife, Mr and Mrs James Pui Yak Yiel for great hospitality and generosity. I also want to thank Michael John Deng Chan for excellent driving knowledge and for making the days and evenings in Guit fun and memorable. I want to thank the Norwegian Church Aid in Juba for helping me getting to Thar Jath, and WNPOC for bringing me back to Khartoum. I also want to thank Kjell Erik Wahl for backing me through a challenging pre-fieldwork time. At the end I want to thank my father for preparing me dinner after long days in the library working on the thesis. Abstract This master thesis investigates the impact of the oil-industry on the local communities in Block 5A, Sudan. During the war the people here experienced harassment, attacks and forced displacement because the central government and oil-companies wanted to access the black gold underneath. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended the over twenty year long civil war in Sudan. Here it is stated that the local communities living in vicinity to oil-extraction areas shall benefit from the oil-industry. This research maps the impact of oil-industry today and whether the statements in the CPA regarding the oil-industry are being followed. It also maps knowledge and expectations of the local communities towards the oil-industry. The research is of qualitative character based on interviews with 40 respondents in 5 villages proximate to oil-extraction areas. In addition it looks at the greater aspect of the link between war and natural resources in post-CPA time in Sudan. The local communities benefit from oil-revenues given through local government and from development projects from the operational company in Block 5A; White Nile Petroleum Operation Company (WNPOC). While prior to the CPA they had no access to schools, health care or infrastructure, most of the respondents today utilize some access. However, the negative effects from the oil-industry outweigh the positive outcomes, mainly because of contamination of drinking water caused by oil-operations. This has devastating consequences for the people here, and therefore undermines the positive development. They also experience illness caused by the smoke originating from drilling-areas, and accidents due to irresponsible road-construction. They don’t participate in decision-making regarding oil-industry, nor are they given a just compensation for previous wrongdoings as the CPA states. The level of knowledge about the oil-industry and the CPA is very low, and so are the expectations of potential benefits. The oil also contributes to destabilising the fragile post-war situation in Sudan due to the negative effects of natural resource dependency. Oil still acts like a curse for the local communities in Block 5A rather than a blessing. However, if the statements of the CPA are being followed, the oil has huge potential for promoting development and sustainable peace in Sudan. I Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 4 2.1. Qualitative methods ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. Description of the study area ........................................................................................................ 5 2.3. Sampling method .......................................................................................................................... 7 2.4. Interview method .......................................................................................................................... 8 3. Theories of war and natural resources ............................................................................................. 9 3.1. What is civil war? ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.2. The role of natural resources in civil wars .................................................................................. 10 3.2.1. Resource scarcity and conflict ................................................................................................. 10 3.2.2. Resource abundance and civil wars ......................................................................................... 11 3.3. Greed vs. grievance and the legitimacy of war ........................................................................... 15 3.4. How to end a civil war? .............................................................................................................. 19 3.5. Peace building and post-conflict development ........................................................................... 22 4. The history of oil and civil war in Sudan ....................................................................................... 26 4.1. Introduction to Sudan .................................................................................................................. 26 4.2. Before independence ................................................................................................................... 27 4.3. The first civil war ........................................................................................................................ 27 4.4. The second civil war ................................................................................................................... 28 4.4.1. Oil triggers war .................................................................................................................... 29 4.4.2. Oil and second civil war ....................................................................................................... 30 4.4.3. Oil as obstacle for peace negotiations .................................................................................. 37 4.5. Post-CPA war in Darfur .............................................................................................................. 39 5. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement .......................................................................................... 41 5.1. The agreement ............................................................................................................................. 41 5.2. Critique of the CPA..................................................................................................................... 44 6. Current oil-production in Sudan .................................................................................................... 46 6.1. Oil, money, companies and blocks in Sudan .............................................................................. 46 6.2. White Nile (5B) Petroleum Operating Company Ltd. ................................................................ 48 6.3. Challenges in the oil industry today ............................................................................................ 49 7. Findings from the field study ........................................................................................................
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