Seven years ago, Ghana was about to become the next thriving economy, basking in the wealth generated by its newly discovered oil and gas. But that scenario never became a reality. Instead, debt rose, and economic growth slowed after an initial growth spurt of over 14 percent in 2011. Just the usual consequences of the oil curse, one would say, except in this case there was a difference: Big Oil, as in the supermajors, did not really play a big part in the Western African country’s evolution as an oil-based economy, even with major support from the State Department. In a recent analysis of the beginnings of Ghana’s oil industry, BuzzFeed refers to information revealed as part of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails that shows that she was defending the interests of companies such as Kosmos Energy and, more notably, Exxon in Ghana. This, […]