Comparative Perspective on Exhaustible Resource Development in Ethiopia: Lessons from the Norwegian Legal Framework and Experience

This paper analyses the Ethiopian Petroleum Operations Proclamation (the Proclamation) and other relevant laws and regulations to determine whether the current structure and function of the law support Ethiopia’s goals of sustainably developing the petroleum resources for the benefit of the Ethiopian people, which is set out in the preamble to the principal Proclamation. This analysis is undertaken by looking at the form and substance of the Proclamation, as well as its interaction with other Ethiopian proclamations, to determine if they support the goal of the law. Further analysis is also undertaken by considering the Proclamation against the Norwegian (and other) legal framework, which has successfully encouraged the optimal extraction of petroleum for sustainable development for over 40 years. Upon analysis of the Proclamation, this paper finds that although some elements of the Proclamation do support sustainable development, there are several functions, such as field development planning and depletion policy, that should be addressed in order to sustainably develop Ethiopia’s petroleum resources for the benefit of the Ethiopian people.