"The extractive industries are prisoners of politics"
Leading resource financier Rick Rule predicts a commodity boom, downplays political risk and calls on extractive companies to embrace diversity.
Critical Resource specialises in political, stakeholder and sustainability challenges in energy and mining. We have a reputation for bespoke, high-quality, high-impact work.
We believe that companies can unlock major commercial value by managing these challenges in a strategic and responsible way.
About us
Critical Resource specialises in political, stakeholder and sustainability challenges in the energy and mining sectors. We advise senior decision makers in a range of organisations, from the world’s largest resource companies to leading investors and single-asset firms. Our belief is that a deep understanding and responsible, strategic management of these issues will be a key source of competitive advantage for companies in the years ahead.
We provide three types of services: due diligence and assurance that stakeholder, political and reputational risks are well understood and managed, prior to our clients making key investments or strategic decisions; practical support at the project level to help in-country teams to achieve specific project goals; and finally, group-level strategies to align and position organisations as a whole to mitigate risks and realise opportunities.
Our network of advisors combines strong industry expertise with on-the-ground intelligence in over 80 countries. The senior advisory panel for the company includes eminent figures from industry, finance and global development. Our core team brings together experience working for major resource firms, The Economist, McKinsey, OECD, UN, and Chatham House, among other organisations.
Recent news and articles
Storm Warning for the Fossil-Fuel Industry
In an article published by Project Syndicate, Critical Resource Founder & MD Daniel Litvin warns that after a year of extreme weather events, the political pressure on oil and gas producers will grow.
Ratings update: Adani Group, Australia
The proposed Carmichael thermal coal project – potentially the largest in Australia – will need to address stakeholder concerns around climate change, land use and environmental impacts in order to come to fruition.
"Extractive companies are nowhere close to being sustainable"
Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace International Executive Director, calls for companies to step up their game on sustainability and warns of climate risk in the extractive sector.
Daniel Litvin: "Don't take risk at face value" - Mining Journal article
Mining Journal report of a speech by Critical Resource founder and Managing Director Daniel Litvin - in which he argues that resource investors should assess each individual project on its own risk profile.
Ratings update: Repsol, Vietnam
Vietnam has cancelled Repsol’s major Red Emperor oil project in Vietnam in response to pressure from China, hitting investor confidence in the oil and gas-rich South China Sea.
“Political risk is everywhere in the oil and gas business”
Lord Browne, former CEO of BP, warns that political risk is inescapable in the oil business and predicts that renewable firms will face mounting stakeholder pressures.
Ratings update: TuNur, Tunisia
Nur Energie’s solar project in Tunisia could help Europe meet its needs for low carbon power but will have to overcome political and commercial hurdles.
"The energy transition is inevitable, now is the time to act"
Rachel Kyte, CEO of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All and new member of Critical Resource’s Senior Advisory Panel, calls for more climate progress from IOCs, NOCs, and the mining industry.