License to drill: a manual on integrity due diligence for licensing in extractive sectors

For the natural resources and extractives sectors, corruption in management and governance is particularly challenging and difficult to mitigate. Untangling and assessing the many deals and transactions is often even more difficult and complicated, particularly in countries with weak regulatory governance systems, where transparency and integrity safeguards are lacking. License to Drill is a practical manual to identify good practice options for reducing corruption risks in the extractives sector. Although there are many points in the extractives value-chain where corruption can emerge, the manual focuses on the licensing process because the decisions made at this early stage are among the most critical. License to Drill outlines methods to improve integrity in the licensing process - both to improve transparency and maximize the quality of entrants. For example, before licenses are granted or renewed, the manual stresses the critical importance of knowing the potential recipient(s). When valuable licenses fall into the hands of those who do not act responsibly, the repercussions and impacts on communities and the sector in general can be seriously damaging. As the manual explains, an effective and transparent licensing process can help filter out many such actors. The manual also offers effective, low-cost options for implementing integrity screening systems to assess potential licensees, thereby mitigating corruption risks.