ABSTRACT
Oil has become one of the main sources of revenue for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Several countries have turned into oil exporters since the 1970s: Nigeria, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. This chapter provides a preliminary analysis of how negative presumptions might be reversed and oil development could potentially catalyse good governance in Africa. Since most of the companies operating in Equatorial Guinea and Angola are American companies or have strong economic interests in America, there is also the possibility that US legal recourse would be more easily applicable to operations in these countries. There are a series of issues involving the oil business and corporate social responsibility in Angola. First, oil production has always been linked to supporting conflicts in the country. Second, there is a large financial imbalance between the huge oil companies and national governments of Africa, and Angola in particular.
