How to scrutinise a production sharing agreement

This guide discusses the provisions of a particular type of oil and gas contract, the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). While the guide is aimed at a general civil society readership, it draws particularly on experience from Kazakhstan. Its purpose is to give an accessible account of some key characteristics of PSAs, with a focus on revenue issues; and to suggest action points for civil society organisations involved with monitoring extractive industries. Indeed, in recent years the management of extractive industry revenues has become of growing concern to public opinion in resource-rich states.

Key issues include public participation in the contracting process, the economic fairness of the deal, the degree of integration of social and environmental concerns, and the extent to which the balance between economic, social and environmental considerations can evolve over often long project durations.

Now available in English, the guide was originally published in Russian by the Soros Foundation – Kazakhstan. Its content proved invaluable at two training sessions on extractive industry contracts co-organised by IIED in Central Asia (with Kazakhstan Revenue Watch) and in Ghana (with the Centre for Public Interest Law).