Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Established in 2002, EITI encourages governments to voluntarily disclose the revenues they receive from oil, gas, and mining operations, with revenues verified by reports of company payments to governments. EITI starts by gaining consent from host governments for reporting of government revenues and payments by companies. For the most part, implementing countries have called for disclosure of company payments aggregated for all reporting companies. This meets the primary purpose of transparency initiatives, to help ensure that governments use their revenues to benefit the citizens of the country.

EITI’s multistakeholder engagement process is just as important as the information that is disclosed by the process. The commitment of governments to disclosure helps establish a culture of accountability and reduced corruption. ExxonMobil believes that EITI is a better approach than other proposals that mandate disclosure of payments by companies without involving host governments in the decision-making process.

Gaining the consent of host governments for increased disclosure requires government-to-government dialogue with the assistance of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These institutions assist host governments in developing the necessary tools for increasing their transparency in managing their oil and gas interests. The presence of a senior government official to champion the initiative and oversee its implementation played a critical role in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Nigeria, and is essential to the progress being made in implementing EITI in Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Madagascar.

Given the breadth and depth of our experience with EITI and commitment to support its implementation, ExxonMobil was elected to the EITI Board in 2006 to help represent other international oil companies. We are playing a leadership role in shaping industry support for EITI and helping EITI transition to a more internationalized governance structure.

Our involvement with EITI, participation in many World Bank workshops, encouragement and assistance to governments, and engagement with multiple interested parties have enhanced our reputation as a leader in promoting transparency.