West Africa Petroleum Resources

Online Book

Exploration and Exploitation of Petroleum Resources in West Africa

A structured guide to petroleum value chains, upstream operations, fiscal regimes, governance, and country-level resource management across West Africa.

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About the Book

Petroleum development, public responsibility, and fiscal strategy.

This book examines how West African states can understand, regulate, and benefit from petroleum exploration and exploitation. It connects technical petroleum operations with legal, fiscal, institutional, and governance questions that shape outcomes for governments, investors, and citizens.

Who This Book Is For

Designed for readers who work across energy, policy, and research.

  • Students and researchers Petroleum geoscience, energy economics, public finance, and governance.
  • Policy makers and regulators State agencies, national oil companies, and institutions overseeing petroleum assets.
  • Energy-sector professionals Operators, consultants, and analysts evaluating upstream activity and fiscal regimes.

What You Will Learn

A practical map of the region's petroleum questions.

  • How the petroleum value chain works Upstream, midstream, and downstream roles in a regional development strategy.
  • Where states create leverage Licensing, exploration oversight, production planning, and abandonment obligations.
  • How fiscal regimes shape outcomes Royalties, cost recovery, profit oil, taxation, and state participation.
  • Why governance determines performance Political stability, transparency, corruption risk, and institutional capacity.

Chapter Preview

Read the mdBook edition by section.

  1. Chapter 1 Value Chain of the Hydrocarbon Sector
  2. Chapter 2 Different Phases of Upstream Oil and the Roles of States
  3. Chapter 3 Tax Regimes in the Petroleum Sector
  1. Chapter 4 Comparative Study of Tax Regimes in Selected West African Countries
  2. Chapter 5 Key Socio-Political Determinants of Oil Sector Performance
  3. Chapter 6 West Africa: In-Depth Country Analysis

About the Author

Edited and published as a web-first study resource.

This online edition is maintained by Edison as a professional reading version of the edited manuscript. Replace this section with the author's full biography, institutional affiliation, and publication notes before public launch.