For decades now, the fossil fuel industry has told the same story: Oil equals development and prosperity. Access. Equality. Stability. A better quality of life. As the world’s fossil fuel companies race to tap the last of the planet’s oil reserves we have a chance to examine that promise up close, in real time.
What it looks like on the ground in countries like Guyana, Uganda, and Mozambique is a lot like what the first phase of extractive colonialism looked like a hundred years ago. Working with reporters living in these countries we are continuously investigating what this new flavor of oil colonialism looks like, starting with an in-depth, two-year reporting project in Guyana.
Podcast Season
Articles in this investigation
As Europe Leaves Controversial Treaty, the Secretariat Courts Resource-Rich African Countries
European countries are leaving the Energy Charter Treaty amid concerns that it blocks national climate action. Internal documents reveal that the Secretariat of the investor-friendly mechanism is now wooing African countries.
UN Expert Says Companies Dealing in Illegally Seized Venezuelan Oil Face Legal Risk
Despite U.S. claims of legal impunity, companies engaging in the refining, shipping and sale of illegally seized oil—particularly those headquartered in the EU—might face judicial hurdles.
Showing Our Work: The Real U.S. Oil Payoff in Venezuela, a Timeline
The U.S. invasion of Venezuela was at least partly driven by oil, but not in the ways most people are talking about.
U.S. Invasion of Venezuela Violates International Climate Law Too
The Trump administration’s oil grab and plans to expand Venezuelan production flouts last year’s landmark climate ruling from the International Court of Justice.
The U.S.-Venezuela-Guyana Oil Triangle
The U.S. interest in Venezuela isn’t just about the oil there, but also about the oil next door in Guyana, and the U.S. oil companies that have staked their future on it.
Uganda’s Crude Oil Pipeline Faces Fresh Hurdles from Campaigners
After clearing its many financing hurdles, now EACOP is facing various legal claims that could slow its progress.
Dispatch from the Front Lines of Mozambique’s Gas Gamble
Mozambique’s LNG project was supposed to bring prosperity to the country. Instead it has fueled the fires of civil unrest. And while local residents are struggling to survive, a small cadre of elite consultants have found success amidst the rubble.
Ugandan Communities Say Total’s Oil Project Is More of a Land Grab than a Development Opportunity
Fred Balikenda and his family were forcefully evicted from their home in Kirama village, Buliisa district on May 13, 2024 to make way for the Tilenga project. Photo by Diana Taremwa-Karakire. When Jealousy Mugisa Mulimba, a 52-year-old father of nine in Uganda’s oil-rich Buliisa district, was informed he would need to move his family from…
Pipe Dreams: Tanzania’s Oil Gamble
As funding for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline barrels ahead, locals are dealing with the harsh realities of displacement.
How Exxon Captured a Country Without Firing a Shot
Guyana is poised to become Exxon’s top global oil producer. Where the company ends and the government begins is increasingly unclear.
Guyana High Court: EPA and ExxonMobil Put Country At Grave Risk
If oil majors actually have to assume the risks of offshore drilling, will that change the math?
Could Guyana’s Exxon ruling scare big oil off risky exploration?
Ruling requiring ‘unlimited guarantee’ from oil firms to cover costs of spills could change offshore drilling throughout region
