Who says transparency, or the lack of it, is the bane of poorer countries? In a startling disclosure, Transparency International (TI) has indicted oil majors from the richest countries in the world as being far from transparent when it comes to the payments they make to resource-rich countries, leaving the door open to corruption and hampering efforts to fight poverty.

These assertions were made in the 2008 Report on Revenue Transparency of Oil and Gas Companies, which evaluates 42 leading international and national oil and gas companies operating in 21 countries, based on the transparency of their reporting, particularly on payments made to governments for resource extraction rights.

The research says western companies such as ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and BP rank as middling or poor performers on voluntarily disclosing information about their operations – alongside China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), Russia's Lukoil and Petronas of Malaysia. Royal/Dutch Shell, Brazil's Petrobras, Norway's StatoilHydro, BG Group of UK and Petro-Canada were among the best performing companies.

ExxonMobil, the largest energy group in the world, ranks at the very bottom, with CNOOC and Lukoil for company. India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) figures right on top for domestic transparency, but at the bottom for its international operations.

ONGC faired in the top tier when it came to disclosure of revenue at home, providing information about regulatory structure and procurement practices and disclosure of anti-corruption programmes. However, for overseas operations, it fell in the lowest tier for disclosing only by geographical segment and providing almost no additional information relevant to revenue transparency.

The report says transparency is "not yet a common practice" for many of the companies driving oil export revenues worth an estimated $866bn (€555bn, £437bn) globally in 2006. The research says: "There remains a large group of low performers...Revenue transparency from oil and gas companies can end much of the secrecy that keeps citizens in the dark about resource wealth."

"Information is crucial, it's fundamental for civil societies to request information on where the revenue from energy extraction is going to and coming from," said Juanita Olaya, who manages the program that came up with the report.

Today, sixty percent of the world's poorest people live in resource-rich countries. Most constitutions grant citizens ultimate ownership of their country's natural resources. Yet much of the data on what companies pay for the right to exploit these resources and how this money is spent by host governments remains unpublished and beyond public scrutiny. This has resulted in what critics call the "paradox of plenty" that has left crude-rich countries such as Nigeria and Angola racked by conflict and corruption.

''The tragic paradox, that many resource-rich countries remain poor, stems from a lack of data on oil and gas revenues and how they are managed. Companies must do more to increase transparency,'' said Huguette Labelle, chairperson of TI.

If there is greater transparency as to where the money for all the oil goes, the poor citizens in theses resource-rich countries can hope for a better life by holding public officials accountable.

''Oil and gas wealth, if properly managed, should support better services and infrastructure. It should lead to a better quality of life for all citizens. It is the duty of civil society to work with companies and governments to unlock this potential,'' Labelle added.

The organization didn't find any justification in oil companies not being transparent in financial dealings. As the companies with best results show, transparency and profitability are not mutually exclusive. To the contrary, greater transparency can enhance confidence in the financial markets and with stakeholders. ''Revenue transparency is a win-win equation,'' said Cobus de Swardt, managing director of TI. ''The benefits to all, especially the world's poorest, can be enormous.''

''We hope that this report helps motivate companies to improve their revenue transparency and that they understand that civil society stands ready as a constructive partner in this process,'' added de Swardt. ''And when we update the report data we look forward to seeing not only improved scores, but greater company engagement in our work. This is an issue that can only be tackled collaboratively.''

The 2008 Report on Revenue Transparency of Oil and Gas Companies makes four key recommendations:

Companies should proactively report revenues paid to governments on a country-by-country basis; Governments, stock exchanges and regulatory agencies should urgently consider mandatory reporting for companies operating in-country and abroad; Governments from oil and gas producing countries should introduce legislation mandating revenue transparency by all companies operating in their territories; Regulatory agencies and companies should agree to publish information in a uniform and accessible format, one that facilitates both comprehension and comparability.

The report said that if 10 per cent of the estimated $866 billion generated worldwide in oil revenues in 2006 was set aside, it would have been enough to cover the total cost of meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. The cost of meeting the set of development standards on education, health, literacy and poverty was estimated at $73 billion in 2006, the report said.

Transparency International (TI) is a leading international non-governmental organization addressing corruption. It is widely known for producing its annual Corruptions Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide, in which India figures rather poorly. Its international headquarters is located in Berlin, Germany.