ABSTRACT
Existing literature supports the importance of natural resources to many countries’ long-term economic and social development. This potential is, however, contested, owing to the sector's underwhelming contribution to long-term social and economic development in many developing countries, particularly in the global south. As a result, in the context of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this chapter has catalogued the contributions of oil and gas to sustainable development in selected countries in the global south. It provides an overview of the concept of sustainable development, the UN SDGs and the implementation process, the issues of financing sustainable development, and how certain nations in the global south are using oil and gas resources to enhance the achievement of the SDGs. The chapter is primarily a desk review, with little empirical data from the authors’ previous research. This chapter contends that achieving the SDGs in the global south is largely dependent on domestic revenue mobilisation capacities and deliberate efforts to prioritise specific planned and targeted indicators. Despite increased spending on national priorities, Ghana and Nigeria, in particular, have not demonstrated enough targeted spending on how to use oil revenue to achieve the SDGs. Nigeria has the Sovereign Wealth Fund and Ghana has the Heritage Fund, and both funds are aimed at investing oil revenue for future generations. Implementation is, however, challenged by mismanagement, misappropriation, and in some cases, corruption. Oil revenue is thinly distributed across several areas with no clear targets or lines of progressive tracking. This chapter, therefore, suggests deliberate and progressive planning and utilisation of oil revenue for accelerated growth and sustainable development in the global south.
