The Extractive Game
OPINION
Why Oil, Gas and Mining Firms Need Business Developers Who Know the Rules—and Play to Win
Article by Steven Thomas, Friday 06 June, 2025In oil, gas, and mining, closing a deal is rarely just about having the right geology. It’s about having the right people.
These sectors operate at the edge of geopolitics, law, and ethics. The scale and complexity of transactions—often measured in the billions—make them high-stakes, high-risk, and high-reward. From Nigeria to Kazakhstan, Guyana to Papua New Guinea, the path to securing extraction rights or moving equipment across borders is a labyrinth lined with regulators, state-owned enterprises, foreign officials, and local power brokers. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and international sanctions regimes cast a long shadow over every move.
This is not theoretical. In just the past year, Glencore was hit with over $400 million in fines by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office for bribes across Africa. In February, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned nine companies, including some in Singapore and Malaysia, for helping Iran move petrochemicals. Add to that a global ESG push and the regulatory aftershocks of the Russia-Ukraine war, and it’s clear: companies that win in extractives today aren’t just those with technical muscle—they’re the ones with business development leaders who can execute deals within the law and beyond the obvious.
Business Development at the Sharp End
At VSG, we work with companies in extractives that understand this new reality. These aren’t firms looking for “rainmakers” in the old-school sense—charismatic closers who chase deals with little concern for how they get done. They want strategic operators who can navigate opaque environments, decode local politics, manage sanctions exposure, and still get a deal across the line. And above all, they want professionals who understand that “commercially aggressive” and “ethically sound” are not mutually exclusive.
These are people who can read between the lines of a PSA, spot a third-party agent that might cause an OFAC headache six months later, and know when to push—and when to walk. They understand that winning a deal today can’t mean fighting a legal fire tomorrow.
Why the Talent Gap Matters
The talent pool for this type of business development executive is narrow—and narrowing. In the post-Russia withdrawal era, many companies have scaled back emerging market operations or reshuffled leadership to reduce compliance exposure. That leaves a vacuum of individuals who not only know how to operate in difficult markets but can do so without triggering FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) red flags or ESG blowback.
We’re often called to find people who’ve closed deals in Nigeria without relying on “facilitation,” who know how to run clean operations in Suriname, or who’ve managed state relationships in places like Algeria or Angola without stepping on a compliance landmine. These are professionals who understand the geopolitical nuance, legal terrain, and reputational risk inherent in every transaction.
The New Dealmakers: Legal-Savvy, Locally Astute, Global in Mindset
It’s no longer enough to send a Western-educated MBA with a financial model. Today's extractives deals demand people with boots-on-the-ground fluency and boardroom credibility. The best of them speak the language—literally and figuratively—of the local market. They know how to structure a JV that won’t backfire under due diligence. They think in terms of beneficial ownership, not just cost-per-barrel.
And most crucially, they are part of the solution. The extractives sector is under enormous pressure—from investors, regulators, and activists—to demonstrate responsible growth. Human rights, transparency, and environmental stewardship are no longer “PR issues.” They are fundamental to license-to-operate. A smart business development executive understands this, and doesn’t treat ESG as an obstacle—they integrate it into the way a deal is structured from day one.
Where This Leaves Us
Deals in this space will continue to be hard-won. The risks aren’t going away—if anything, they’re growing more complex and less predictable. But that makes the value of the right people even more critical.
If you want to grow in high-opportunity, high-risk markets today, the real differentiator isn’t just strategy or capital—it’s people. Not just any people. The kind who understand the rules, respect the boundaries, and still find a way to win.
About the author: Steven Thomas is Principal Consultant at VSG, a consultancy specialising in sales and business development leadership across resource markets. He works with companies in oil, gas, and extractives to identify the people who drive compliant, competitive growth in high-risk environments.
