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The speaker discusses their doctoral research, which initially focused on narratives of identity and nationhood in Kazakhstan, before shifting to explore the political economy of oil. This video video interest was sparked by an avalanche of international media coverage in 2001 regarding allegations of corruption in Kazakhstan's government, particularly linked to oil revenues from a major multinational enterprise running in the country. Despite these allegations seeming fabricated, they significantly impacted public perception, leading to the realization among ordinary citizens that oil could be a source of national wealth rather than just a commodity.

The speaker notes how the perception of oil as a vital national resource transformed in Kazakh society, especially following the Soviet collapse. They conducted fieldwork in oil-producing regions and found that the local labor market was intricately tied to multinational oil companies, challenging existing literature that argued oil extraction does not require a large workforce. Their research revealed a complex network of outsourced labor that employed many local workers, contradicting the resource curse theory, which asserts that oil wealth leads to societal and political instability due to poor governance.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of international oil contracts, which often favor multinational companies while leaving local governments reliant yet weakened in their authority and governance capabilities. They describe how these contracts impact labor conditions, leading to strikes and protests as laborers faced exploitation. The insights presented highlight the entangled relationship between state governance and multinational corporations, positioning the latter not just as economic entities but as political actors that shape local governance and social conditions.

Ultimately, the speaker advocates for a critical examination of the relationships between states and oil companies to understand the implications for governance and resource management in oil-exporting countries, emphasizing that transparency and accountability issues are tied to the influence of multinational corporations in the post-colonial oil economies.

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Exact narratives of identity and nation code.

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Uh, so that was my doctoral research

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and, today I would like to talk a little bit,

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not so much about that,

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but during this research, I was able to come up with the,

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the idea for a new project

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that I pursued right after that.

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So my interest in political economy of oil emerged

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during my doctoral project that I pursued in Kazakhstan

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in 2001.

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While I was looking into narratives of identity

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and nationhood, the country captured global headlines

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that never happened before.

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The New York Times, Bloomberg News,

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New York Financial Times.

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In other words, major international English language outlets

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featured a series of articles

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that year in which they reported alleged mega corruption

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involving Kazakhstan's leadership.

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It was surprising to see this avalanche

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of publicity detailing financial transactions involving

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million of dollars, millions of dollars

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between the president of Kazakhstan

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and some murky international financiers

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and going between entrepreneurs.

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These millions were associated

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with a multinational oil enterprise established in

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Kazakhstan in 1992.

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In one voice, the international media outlets condemned

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Kazakhstan Central government

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of siphoning the revenues from this enterprise.

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This media story appeared to be fabricated,

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although it did contain some truthful information

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that was twisted and turned to serve the purpose

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of linking corruption and the state and Kazakhstan.

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But in 2001, when it was still a breaking news,

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the story seemed to be very real.

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My immediate interest was the societal

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response in Kazakhstan to this international publicity

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linking oil revenue, revenues

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and corruption, as well as the state's response

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to the political activities This publicity prompted.

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The society was astounded by these allegations of embezzle,

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embezzlement of the oil revenues,

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and the international media aptly named the whole situation

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as the Caza gate.

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It's good to know that prior to this, allegations

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of corruption

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through the oil had no particular meaning in Kazakhstan,

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outside the oil producing regions where it meant work

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for the rest of the society, oil had been a mineral

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no different from other minerals or commodities mined

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or produced otherwise in the country.

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The allegations of corruption

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help the oil emerge in the eyes of the society as a major,

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If not the only source of future prosperity of the nation.

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Oil was no longer a mineral,

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but a paycheck that everyone in the society was entitled

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to Based on the windfall revenues it delivered,

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I thought it would be useful

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to look into this transformation of cultural meaning

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of crude oil in the country that only recently

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entered the global capitalist economy.

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Upon the Soviet collapse in 1991,

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I did some research in Almadi

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and Astana, the largest urban, urban centers in Kazakhstan,

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but I also went to the major oil producing

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Ara region in Western Kazakhstan.

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I was eager to learn about the relationship

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between local society

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and the industry that was established there.

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During the Soviet period, my goal was

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to create a multi-layered discussion of crude oil in as well

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as outside the oil producing regions in Kazakhstan.

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My research was grounded there in, in, in Kazakhstan,

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but at the same time, I was not oblivious to of the,

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global connections.

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The awareness of the global relations was the reason why I

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singled out one oil enterprise ship Royal

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or TCO, which was

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and still is operated by Chevron Texaco.

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TCO was the first multinational oil deal for Kazakhstan.

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In 2004, which was the year I started my project,

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this multinational enterprise was the largest oil

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producer in Kazakhstan.

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It was also the enterprise

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that was embellished in the allegations of corruption

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that I not noted earlier.

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I visited TCO

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and spent several summers residing in the community,

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situated in the vicinity of this enterprise,

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most if not all, residents of puls array,

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which became my base community, had connections with TCO

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and the oil industry more generally.

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I quickly came to realize that the experiences

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and the relationships that

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and other communities had with the oil industry

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and the effects of the economic boom

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that TCOs operations generated locally was somewhat

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that odds with the analytical frameworks on petroleum

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politics and society.

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In a nutshell, one of the arguments in these frameworks is

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that oil production doesn't require a numerous workforce,

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unlike many other industries,

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the state which is in almost all countries is the owner

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of the mineral resources collects the revenues that's the,

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that the expert of oil generates, as opposed

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to a significant portion

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of these revenues being distributed in the form of the wages

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or entrepreneurial earning.

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In the countries where the states institutions

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lack transparency

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and accountability, all revenues, it is argued,

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end up being misused

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and embezzled by the government's officials while their

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respective societies, including the oil producing

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regions live in poverty.

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Now, this phenomenon has been named the resource curve,

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given the windfall revenues that the oil export,

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generates.

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It didn't take me long to learn

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that the processes involved in oil extraction

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and conversion in the marketable commodity

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entail a complex industrial infrastructure.

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And this infrastructure requires a significant workforce.

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Oil producing companies may maintain a significantly

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a statistically and insignificant workforce.

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For example, TCO had less than 3000 employees,

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but it is only because the oil multinationals outsource all

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non-core activities to other service firms

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that in turn outsource portions of their contracts

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to other even smaller firms.

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And so it goes on between 2005

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and 2008.

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TCO sustained the operations of nearly 100 companies

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that clustered around it.

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In total, these companies employed nearly 27,000 people,

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and this is a significant number of,

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of workplaces for a single project.

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This was the discrepancy that I witnessed on the ground

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and what the literature on the resources has stipulated.

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On the other hand, there were clear signs

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that things were not going the way they should have.

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Corresponding to the argument in this literature

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that oil fosters social

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and political volatility based on the poor behavior

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of the state.

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Thus the economic boom that significantly expanded

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business market and labor demand around TCO was accompanied

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by several labor riots, which took place between 2004

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and 2006.

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Labor had not been my original interest, but

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because local residents were so concerned

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and frustrated with the lawless practices,

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including corruption

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and labor abuses that sparked the riots, I turned

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to labor seeking to learn why the state failed

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to bring the rule of law to the oil co colony,

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the epicenter of the riots.

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The oil com, colony in this case is a secure industrial

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enclave created around TCO

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to ensure a small declaration of its businesses.

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The focus on labor took me to the contract

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that governed the relationship

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between the multinational partners, Chevron Texaco,

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and Mobile Exxon, and the state.

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And this inquiry led me to argue about the role

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of the international oil contracts in making the situations

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in the oil exporting countries across the global south,

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volatile not only around the oil patch, but more generally.

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The literature that advance the thesis

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of resource course has its focus on the state

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and the states' share of revenues, excluding from social

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analysis, the multinational oil companies

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that deliver this revenues to the state.

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I shifted the focus

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and put the international oil contracts

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that govern the relationship between the oil multinationals

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and the state at the center of my analysis.

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Now, I think it would be good

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to say a few words about these contracts.

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The oil multinationals have gained

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or regained access to the oil deposits in post-colonial,

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and post Soviet states through production sharing agreements

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or concessions, which are referred to as oil contracts.

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These contracts acknowledging the state as a proprietor

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of the mineral wealth seem to serve a simple purpose

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of defining the state and private company

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or consortium, their responsibilities

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and shareholders, equities.

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The TCO contract, for example,

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has allocated an 80% share of production

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to the state while the remaining 20% gone to Chevron.

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The simple formula made the deal look transparent

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and attractive to the state.

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However, these contracts are complex documents which were

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designed by the oil multinationals

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with their interests in mind.

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The hundreds of pages of the contract on fiscal procedures

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and legal stipulations significantly modify

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the production sharing scheme

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and undercut their apparent power of the state.

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Guided by critical legal status.

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I try to challenge Conve conventional thinking about trans

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transnational corporate law as an autonomous

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and a political tool that has been created

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to enable a proper conduct of business across Barrett legal,

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economic, and political environments.

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Instead, these contracts are a para ladin technological

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commodity that legitimize the transfer

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of public resources to the global corporations

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and domestic power holders.

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By recasting these resources as private interest,

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by signing the contract,

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the state relinquish its political authority.

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In re relation to the oil project,

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the state becomes a commercial partner

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of the multinational oil company acting as a guarantor

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of the enterprise economic integrity.

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So the role of the state is reducing to policing,

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the society to make sure that the operations

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of the oil enterprise go smoothly.

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To paraphrase one legal expert, the government might be seen

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as the one running the show,

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but it is the multinational oil company that does so

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by using TCO as an example, I explored the process

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of this recasting from the negotiation of the country,

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of the contract until 2011,

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and its political effects of, this on the state.

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Now I have published the findings of, my research,

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so I won't repeat any of that now yet.

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I'd like to circle back to the labor situation

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around TCO in 2004 and six

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and the International media friends.

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In 2001, I noted earlier that the state was entitled

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to 80% of production share at TCO,

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but the state was,

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to begin receiving this respectable share.

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Only when the enterprise would reach the threshold

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of profitability established by Chevron.

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Until then, Chevron its operator was to keep its,

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the state's share to itself.

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This threshold could only be achieved upon the expansion

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00:13:39.975 --> 00:13:42.755
of industrial infrastructure that was in the books.

245
00:13:43.335 --> 00:13:47.425
In 2001, Chevron refused to in fact,

246
00:13:47.525 --> 00:13:50.385
invest in this expansion as was supposed to do.

247
00:13:51.325 --> 00:13:55.215
This refusal caused the state millions in lost revenues,

248
00:13:55.235 --> 00:13:58.695
but it was perfectly legal Within the contractual agreement.

249
00:13:59.575 --> 00:14:02.715
The international publicity accusing the president's office

250
00:14:02.855 --> 00:14:04.435
of corruption and theft

251
00:14:04.615 --> 00:14:07.315
of oil revenues generated public protests.

252
00:14:08.295 --> 00:14:11.675
The state disclosed the information on the revenues it

253
00:14:11.915 --> 00:14:14.075
received from TCO, including the fact

254
00:14:14.075 --> 00:14:16.035
that it established a national fund

255
00:14:16.035 --> 00:14:19.635
where excess profits from the export of Oil West store,

256
00:14:20.645 --> 00:14:21.905
the standard practice

257
00:14:21.905 --> 00:14:25.505
of setting up accounts abroad was not well received in the

258
00:14:25.505 --> 00:14:28.625
society that demanded the return of the money home

259
00:14:29.125 --> 00:14:31.145
and called, called for elections.

260
00:14:31.935 --> 00:14:34.545
Chevron used this situation referring

261
00:14:34.545 --> 00:14:38.465
to a politically risky environment as the reason

262
00:14:38.685 --> 00:14:40.665
for not committing further investment.

263
00:14:41.205 --> 00:14:45.945
And again, politically risk environment was a good

264
00:14:45.955 --> 00:14:50.665
legal reason for the oil company to stop for the investment.

265
00:14:51.505 --> 00:14:55.405
And only after the executive branch threw its weight around

266
00:14:55.925 --> 00:14:57.285
restricting freedom of speech

267
00:14:57.785 --> 00:15:00.005
and corrupt, competition for power

268
00:15:00.705 --> 00:15:03.165
to Rome began financing the exp expansion,

269
00:15:03.265 --> 00:15:05.405
the expansion project in 2004.

270
00:15:06.065 --> 00:15:10.045
Now, this industrial expansion generated the economic boom

271
00:15:10.225 --> 00:15:13.525
in the areas adjacent to TCO along

272
00:15:13.525 --> 00:15:15.605
with prolific labor abuse.

273
00:15:16.825 --> 00:15:19.765
The labor riots didn't hurt the oil company's profit

274
00:15:20.315 --> 00:15:22.805
profits, which were protected by the contract,

275
00:15:23.695 --> 00:15:24.915
and TCO was able

276
00:15:24.915 --> 00:15:27.475
to distance itself from the labor situation.

277
00:15:28.255 --> 00:15:31.595
The state, however, came to face an awkward dilemma

278
00:15:32.055 --> 00:15:34.635
of either enforcing labor law

279
00:15:35.255 --> 00:15:37.755
or leaving the situation alone, which it did.

280
00:15:37.755 --> 00:15:42.285
In the end, the government was afraid to do anything

281
00:15:42.595 --> 00:15:44.565
that would slow down construction,

282
00:15:44.585 --> 00:15:47.605
in which case the state would seed millions

283
00:15:48.265 --> 00:15:50.885
to future revenue in future revenues to

284
00:15:51.625 --> 00:15:52.805
its corporate partner.

285
00:15:55.085 --> 00:15:57.125
Ultimately, this dilemma was about

286
00:15:57.705 --> 00:15:59.445
either receiving the share

287
00:15:59.445 --> 00:16:02.815
of revenues the state was entitled to

288
00:16:03.035 --> 00:16:04.815
or establishing good governance.

289
00:16:05.635 --> 00:16:07.645
This dilemma was not inevitable.

290
00:16:07.905 --> 00:16:11.245
Rather it was created by the oil contract that's similar

291
00:16:11.385 --> 00:16:14.525
to all other contracts designed to enable

292
00:16:14.745 --> 00:16:18.165
and protect corporate mega profits worked against the

293
00:16:18.165 --> 00:16:22.125
development of good governance in places inhabited

294
00:16:22.125 --> 00:16:24.005
by the multinational oil companies.

295
00:16:25.515 --> 00:16:30.455
And here's, this is my central claim, that I,

296
00:16:30.735 --> 00:16:34.695
I would like to share to truly understand the problems

297
00:16:34.695 --> 00:16:37.015
with transparency, accountability,

298
00:16:37.275 --> 00:16:40.015
and concentration of power in Kazakhstan

299
00:16:40.355 --> 00:16:44.495
or any other oil exporting states in, in,

300
00:16:44.715 --> 00:16:45.935
in the global south.

301
00:16:46.195 --> 00:16:47.855
The relationship between the state

302
00:16:47.875 --> 00:16:50.415
and the multinational oil companies has

303
00:16:50.415 --> 00:16:52.935
to be critically approached and made visible

304
00:16:53.405 --> 00:16:57.855
because these companies are not only significant players in

305
00:16:57.855 --> 00:16:59.735
terms of the capital they command,

306
00:17:00.085 --> 00:17:02.975
they are political actors on their own right.

307
00:17:03.935 --> 00:17:04.955
The conclusions

308
00:17:04.955 --> 00:17:09.275
and implications of my work is that the states

309
00:17:09.855 --> 00:17:14.435
are not the only major actors when it comes

310
00:17:14.695 --> 00:17:16.155
to oil,

311
00:17:16.955 --> 00:17:21.555
although they are made to like it based on the fact

312
00:17:21.905 --> 00:17:26.355
that they are sole proprietors of mineral resources.

313
00:17:26.905 --> 00:17:29.235
When oil is being extracted

314
00:17:29.825 --> 00:17:34.395
from the ground from underground, the state owns all the oil

315
00:17:34.545 --> 00:17:35.835
that was extracted.

316
00:17:35.905 --> 00:17:37.475
However, what happens

317
00:17:37.685 --> 00:17:41.395
after that is of particular importance.

318
00:17:42.135 --> 00:17:47.035
The examination of the legal environment within which

319
00:17:48.275 --> 00:17:52.695
oil the mineral becomes money is very important.

320
00:17:53.245 --> 00:17:56.535
It's very crucial to understanding the political

321
00:17:56.575 --> 00:18:00.295
implications of oil on the state.

Corruption and Oil: Kazakhstan's Transformation

00:00:00 - Exact narratives of identity and nation code. so that was my doctoral research and, today I would like to talk a little bit, not so much about that, but during this research, I was able to come up with the, the idea for a new project that I pursued right after that. So my interest in political economy of oil emerged during my doctoral project that I pursued in Kazakhstan
00:00:33 - While I was looking into narratives of identity and nationhood, the country captured global headlines that never happened before. The New York Times, Bloomberg News, New York Financial Times. In other words, major international English language outlets featured a series of articles that year in which they reported alleged mega corruption involving Kazakhstan's leadership. It was surprising to see this avalanche
00:01:06 - million of dollars, millions of dollars between the president of Kazakhstan and some murky international financiers and going between entrepreneurs. These millions were associated with a multinational oil enterprise established in Kazakhstan in 1992. In one voice, the international media outlets condemned Kazakhstan Central government of siphoning the revenues from this enterprise.
00:01:40 - although it did contain some truthful information that was twisted and turned to serve the purpose of linking corruption and the state and Kazakhstan. But in 2001, when it was still a breaking news, the story seemed to be very real. My immediate interest was the societal response in Kazakhstan to this international publicity linking oil revenue, revenues and corruption, as well as the state's response
00:02:13 - The society was astounded by these allegations of embezzle, embezzlement of the oil revenues, and the international media aptly named the whole situation as the Caza gate. It's good to know that prior to this, allegations of corruption through the oil had no particular meaning in Kazakhstan, outside the oil producing regions where it meant work
00:02:44 - no different from other minerals or commodities mined or produced otherwise in the country. The allegations of corruption help the oil emerge in the eyes of the society as a major, If not the only source of future prosperity of the nation. Oil was no longer a mineral, but a paycheck that everyone in the society was entitled to Based on the windfall revenues it delivered,

Cultural Transformation of Oil in Kazakhstan

00:03:16 - to look into this transformation of cultural meaning of crude oil in the country that only recently entered the global capitalist economy. Upon the Soviet collapse in 1991, I did some research in Almadi and Astana, the largest urban, urban centers in Kazakhstan, but I also went to the major oil producing Ara region in Western Kazakhstan. I was eager to learn about the relationship
00:03:48 - and the industry that was established there. During the Soviet period, my goal was to create a multi-layered discussion of crude oil in as well as outside the oil producing regions in Kazakhstan. My research was grounded there in, in, in Kazakhstan, but at the same time, I was not oblivious to of the, global connections. The awareness of the global relations was the reason why I
00:04:21 - or TCO, which was and still is operated by Chevron Texaco. TCO was the first multinational oil deal for Kazakhstan. In 2004, which was the year I started my project, this multinational enterprise was the largest oil producer in Kazakhstan. It was also the enterprise that was embellished in the allegations of corruption
00:04:51 - I visited TCO and spent several summers residing in the community, situated in the vicinity of this enterprise, most if not all, residents of puls array, which became my base community, had connections with TCO and the oil industry more generally. I quickly came to realize that the experiences and the relationships that and other communities had with the oil industry
00:05:22 - that TCOs operations generated locally was somewhat that odds with the analytical frameworks on petroleum politics and society. In a nutshell, one of the arguments in these frameworks is that oil production doesn't require a numerous workforce, unlike many other industries, the state which is in almost all countries is the owner of the mineral resources collects the revenues that's the,
00:05:55 - to a significant portion of these revenues being distributed in the form of the wages or entrepreneurial earning. In the countries where the states institutions lack transparency and accountability, all revenues, it is argued, end up being misused and embezzled by the government's officials while their respective societies, including the oil producing

Labor Dynamics in Oil Export Economies

00:06:26 - Now, this phenomenon has been named the resource curve, given the windfall revenues that the oil export, generates. It didn't take me long to learn that the processes involved in oil extraction and conversion in the marketable commodity entail a complex industrial infrastructure. And this infrastructure requires a significant workforce. Oil producing companies may maintain a significantly
00:07:00 - For example, TCO had less than 3000 employees, but it is only because the oil multinationals outsource all non-core activities to other service firms that in turn outsource portions of their contracts to other even smaller firms. And so it goes on between 2005 and 2008. TCO sustained the operations of nearly 100 companies
00:07:33 - In total, these companies employed nearly 27,000 people, and this is a significant number of, of workplaces for a single project. This was the discrepancy that I witnessed on the ground and what the literature on the resources has stipulated. On the other hand, there were clear signs that things were not going the way they should have. Corresponding to the argument in this literature
00:08:02 - and political volatility based on the poor behavior of the state. Thus the economic boom that significantly expanded business market and labor demand around TCO was accompanied by several labor riots, which took place between 2004 and 2006. Labor had not been my original interest, but because local residents were so concerned and frustrated with the lawless practices,
00:08:32 - and labor abuses that sparked the riots, I turned to labor seeking to learn why the state failed to bring the rule of law to the oil co colony, the epicenter of the riots. The oil com, colony in this case is a secure industrial enclave created around TCO to ensure a small declaration of its businesses. The focus on labor took me to the contract that governed the relationship between the multinational partners, Chevron Texaco,
00:09:07 - And this inquiry led me to argue about the role of the international oil contracts in making the situations in the oil exporting countries across the global south, volatile not only around the oil patch, but more generally. The literature that advance the thesis of resource course has its focus on the state and the states' share of revenues, excluding from social

Revising Oil Contracts and State Authority

00:09:38 - that deliver this revenues to the state. I shifted the focus and put the international oil contracts that govern the relationship between the oil multinationals and the state at the center of my analysis. Now, I think it would be good to say a few words about these contracts. The oil multinationals have gained or regained access to the oil deposits in post-colonial,
00:10:10 - or concessions, which are referred to as oil contracts. These contracts acknowledging the state as a proprietor of the mineral wealth seem to serve a simple purpose of defining the state and private company or consortium, their responsibilities and shareholders, equities. The TCO contract, for example, has allocated an 80% share of production
00:10:43 - The simple formula made the deal look transparent and attractive to the state. However, these contracts are complex documents which were designed by the oil multinationals with their interests in mind. The hundreds of pages of the contract on fiscal procedures and legal stipulations significantly modify the production sharing scheme and undercut their apparent power of the state.
00:11:15 - I try to challenge Conve conventional thinking about trans transnational corporate law as an autonomous and a political tool that has been created to enable a proper conduct of business across Barrett legal, economic, and political environments. Instead, these contracts are a para ladin technological commodity that legitimize the transfer of public resources to the global corporations
00:11:47 - By recasting these resources as private interest, by signing the contract, the state relinquish its political authority. In re relation to the oil project, the state becomes a commercial partner of the multinational oil company acting as a guarantor of the enterprise economic integrity. So the role of the state is reducing to policing,
00:12:20 - of the oil enterprise go smoothly. To paraphrase one legal expert, the government might be seen as the one running the show, but it is the multinational oil company that does so by using TCO as an example, I explored the process of this recasting from the negotiation of the country, of the contract until 2011,

Chevron, Kazakhstan, and Labor Rights Challenges

00:12:53 - Now I have published the findings of, my research, so I won't repeat any of that now yet. I'd like to circle back to the labor situation around TCO in 2004 and six and the International media friends. In 2001, I noted earlier that the state was entitled to 80% of production share at TCO, but the state was,
00:13:21 - Only when the enterprise would reach the threshold of profitability established by Chevron. Until then, Chevron its operator was to keep its, the state's share to itself. This threshold could only be achieved upon the expansion of industrial infrastructure that was in the books. In 2001, Chevron refused to in fact, invest in this expansion as was supposed to do.
00:13:55 - but it was perfectly legal Within the contractual agreement. The international publicity accusing the president's office of corruption and theft of oil revenues generated public protests. The state disclosed the information on the revenues it received from TCO, including the fact that it established a national fund where excess profits from the export of Oil West store, the standard practice
00:14:25 - society that demanded the return of the money home and called, called for elections. Chevron used this situation referring to a politically risky environment as the reason for not committing further investment. And again, politically risk environment was a good legal reason for the oil company to stop for the investment. And only after the executive branch threw its weight around
00:14:57 - and corrupt, competition for power to Rome began financing the exp expansion, the expansion project in 2004. Now, this industrial expansion generated the economic boom in the areas adjacent to TCO along with prolific labor abuse. The labor riots didn't hurt the oil company's profit profits, which were protected by the contract, and TCO was able to distance itself from the labor situation.
00:15:32 - of either enforcing labor law or leaving the situation alone, which it did. In the end, the government was afraid to do anything that would slow down construction, in which case the state would seed millions to future revenue in future revenues to its corporate partner. Ultimately, this dilemma was about either receiving the share

Oil Contracts and Governance Dilemmas

00:16:03 - or establishing good governance. This dilemma was not inevitable. Rather it was created by the oil contract that's similar to all other contracts designed to enable and protect corporate mega profits worked against the development of good governance in places inhabited by the multinational oil companies. And here's, this is my central claim, that I,
00:16:34 - with transparency, accountability, and concentration of power in Kazakhstan or any other oil exporting states in, in, in the global south. The relationship between the state and the multinational oil companies has to be critically approached and made visible because these companies are not only significant players in terms of the capital they command, they are political actors on their own right.
00:17:04 - and implications of my work is that the states are not the only major actors when it comes to oil, although they are made to like it based on the fact that they are sole proprietors of mineral resources. When oil is being extracted from the ground from underground, the state owns all the oil
00:17:56 - However, what happens after that is of particular importance. The examination of the legal environment within which oil the mineral becomes money is very important. It's very crucial to understanding the political implications of oil on the state.

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