Study title

The data comprises qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews in China, Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan. In addition, there were short surveys with communities affected by oil investments in Nigeria and Ghana. In China data was collected during a workshop and the deliberations were full transcribed. The interviews and workshop discussions were transcribed and translated into English where necessary. Where audio recordings were not permitted researchers took field notes which also form part of the collection. There is also one expert report from Sudan where data collection proved highly sensitive (see Notes on access). The African data is organised by country and sub-divided by stakeholder groups which appear is separate folders. These are Chinese oil companies, African oil companies, international oil companies, suppliers, MDAs, civil society organisations, and communities. The China data is more limited and comprises field notes and workshop transcripts.After decades of being regarded as 'basket cases' some African economies are experiencing growth rates that are among the fastest in the world. Much of this growth is based on the export of commodities, like oil, to China and other emerging economies. Driving this engagement are Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) that have grown up through China's reform period and, as such, carry with them many key features of the 'China model'. While we hypothesise that the Chinese do things 'differently' to other oil investors in Africa we do not know whether the different corporate strategies of the leading Chinese NOCs and the specificities of African political economies they engage with generates unique forms of development, and if so in whose interests? Crucially it is a mistake to see this as one-way traffic with Chinese firms entirely determining the agenda. Our past ESRC-funded research reveals the importance of African agency in shaping the terms of this engagement and with it the potentials for development....