Chinese Oil Companies and African Development Qualitative Data Collection, 2016-2018

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.<p>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. In terms of DFID-ESRC's priorities the project addresses Chinese FDI, resource-based growth models, and infrastructure given that many Chinese oil deals are tied to infrastructure.
This project will be the first to assess whether and how such developmental benefits may be occurring. We will start by investigating the Chinese NOCs and their relationships to key state and semi-private agencies in China, before undertaking field research in Africa. Important here are the complex 'packages' of aid, trade and investment in Africa through Chinese NOCs, banks and ministries. Chinese NOCs are active across Africa but three countries - Ghana, Angola and Sudan - represent different aspects of their engagement with the continent. These countries are also unique so these contextual differences allow us to examine the role that African agency plays in shaping the nature of and benefits from this new investment in their oil sectors. We will also assess their impacts and the extent to which the growth they generate - directly, through oil-backed infrastructure, and via state revenue - trickles down to Africa's poorest.
Data collection will be both quantitative and qualitative; the former being data sets on Chinese FDI and African social indicators, and the latter interviews with key Chinese and African actors. To successfully carry out this data collection in countries and an industrial sector renowned for lacking transparency we will work with partners who have track-records of research in this area, and are embedded in key policy circles which will maximise the impact of our research.
Having established the drivers, dynamics and impacts of these investment flows we will address the needs of various users of knowledge. Academics across a range of disciplines will benefit from new knowledge of the character of these flows and impacts, as well as rethinking debates on the nature of international relations, resource-based development and the role of 'Southern' actors in that. National and international policy-makers will benefit from better information about the nature of these oil-related trade and investment flows, as well as benefitting from the recommendations we make for interventions that could enhance the mutual benefits from these new business relations. International and African business people will benefit through greater knowledge of the opportunities available, but also about how to do business in such complex cross-cultural settings. To achieve this, the research team will deliver bespoke training programmes on Chinese NOCs and local linkages. Finally, the general public will benefit from better-informed debate about the nature of Africa's development, and the real costs and benefits of actors like the Chinese. The Open University, where the core team is based, has wide experience of engaging the public in learning about the world and will produce a MOOC on oil and development in Africa.</p>

本数据集包含从中、加纳、尼日利亚、苏丹四国采集的半结构化访谈定性数据。此外，还针对尼日利亚与加纳两国受石油投资影响的社区开展了简短问卷调查。中国地区的调研数据通过工作坊采集，所有研讨内容均已完整转录。所有访谈及工作坊讨论内容均已转录，并在必要时译为英文。在不允许录音的场景中，研究人员将实地笔记作为调研数据的组成部分。另有一份来自苏丹的专家报告，该国的数据采集工作因涉及高度敏感内容（详见《访问说明》）。

非洲地区的数据按国家分类，并按利益相关方群体细分，各组数据分别存储于独立文件夹中，涵盖中国油企、非洲本土油企、国际油企、供应商、政府主管部门（MDAs）、民间社会组织以及受影响社区。中国地区的数据规模相对有限，仅包含实地笔记与工作坊转录文本。

在被长期视为“失败经济体”数十年后，部分非洲经济体正跻身全球增速最快的经济体行列。此类增长多依托于石油等大宗商品对华及其他新兴经济体的出口。推动这一合作的是伴随中国改革开放成长起来的中国国家石油公司（NOCs），这类企业天然带有“中国模式”的诸多核心特征。尽管我们假设中国油企在非洲的运营模式与其他石油投资者存在差异，但我们尚不清楚，头部中国国家石油公司的差异化企业战略，以及其合作对象所处的非洲政治经济特殊性，是否会催生独特的发展形态，若有，又将符合何方利益？尤为关键的是，将此合作视为中国企业完全主导议程的单向过程是错误的。我们过往由英国经济与社会研究委员会（ESRC）资助的研究表明，非洲本土能动性在塑造该合作框架以及发展潜力方面发挥着重要作用。鉴于多数中国石油交易均与基础设施绑定，本项目契合英国国际发展部（DFID）与ESRC的优先研究方向，聚焦中国对外直接投资（FDI）、资源导向型增长模式以及基础设施建设。

本项目将首次评估此类发展红利是否存在及具体实现路径。我们将先调研中国国家石油公司（NOCs）及其与中国国内核心国有及半私营机构的合作关系，随后赴非洲开展实地研究。其中尤为重要的是，中国国家石油公司、银行及政府部门在非洲开展的援助、贸易与投资复合型“一揽子合作”。中国国家石油公司（NOCs）在非洲多国均有布局，但加纳、安哥拉与苏丹三国分别代表了其与非洲大陆合作的不同维度。这三国的国情各具特色，因此借助这些情境差异，我们可探究非洲本土能动性在塑造本国石油领域新投资的合作性质与收益分配中所扮演的角色。我们还将评估此类投资的影响，以及其通过直接收益、石油支撑的基础设施建设以及政府税收渠道所产生的增长，在多大程度上能够惠及非洲最贫困群体。

本次数据采集将兼顾定量与定性两类方式：定量数据涵盖中国对外直接投资（FDI）数据集与非洲社会经济指标数据；定性数据则来自对中国与非洲核心参与方的访谈。鉴于相关国家与行业素来以透明度不足著称，为顺利完成数据采集工作，我们将与在该领域拥有成熟研究经验且深度嵌入核心政策圈层的合作伙伴开展合作，以最大化本研究的影响力。

在明确此类投资流动的驱动因素、运行机制与影响后，我们将针对不同知识受众的需求开展成果转化。各学科领域的学者将借此获取关于此类投资流动与影响的全新认知，同时可重新审视关于国际关系性质、资源导向型发展以及“南方”行动者在其中的角色的相关辩论。各国及国际政策制定者将获得关于此类石油相关贸易与投资流动性质的更全面信息，并可参考我们提出的政策干预建议，以强化此类新型商业合作的互利性。国际及非洲商界人士将通过本次研究更清晰地了解相关合作机遇，同时掌握如何在复杂的跨文化场景中开展业务。为此，研究团队将开设针对中国国家石油公司（NOCs）与本土联动机制的定制化培训项目。最终，普通公众将能够更全面地参与关于非洲发展本质以及中国等行动者的真实成本与收益的讨论。本项目核心团队依托的开放大学（Open University）在面向公众开展世界认知科普方面拥有丰富经验，将推出一门关于非洲石油与发展的大规模开放在线课程（MOOC）。