Africa has considerable oil and gas resources that can help accelerate growth on the continent if used strategically. Although new resources are discovered progressively, they are not equally distributed; indeed, 38 out of 53 African countries are currently net oil importers. High and volatile oil prices are thus a challenge for all of Africa; they represent an opportunity to be pursued for exporting countries and an obstacle to be tackled for importing countries.
The broad objective of this report, published in 2009, is to shed light on key issues related to the social, environmental, and economic impacts of high and volatile oil and gas prices.