Jesse Salah Ovadia is a Lecturer in International Political Economy at Newcastle University.

"A masterly overview ... this brilliant book opens up new vistas ... and extends the frontiers of existing knowledge on Africa's political economy of oil ... [The Petro-Developmental State in Africa] will alter the way in which the natural resources-development nexus in Africa is debated for some time to come." -- Africa

"This informed, nuanced monograph adds to the emerging 'Africa Rising' discourses. The 'petro-developmental state' advances notions of African capitalism and developmentalism with a focus on local content, entrepreneurs and civil society with original case studies of indigenous companies and NGOs. Ovadia anticipates post-2015 development in the energy region of the Gulf of Guinea." --Timothy M Shaw, Visiting Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

"This study takes an innovative approach to the question of how local content policies in Angola, Nigeria and other oil producing states in the Gulf of Guinea target specific developmental needs. Based on extensive fieldwork and a careful reading of the secondary literature, Ovadia provides a refreshing perspective that contrasts sharply with the rather tired determinism of 'resource curse' hypotheses, arguing that local content policies are elements intrinsic to the emergence of a petro-developmental state." -- John R. Heilbrunn, Associate Professor, Colorado School of Mines, and author of Oil, Democracy, and Development in Africa

"In this comprehensive study, Ovadia makes a compelling case for state-led, oil-driven development in the Gulf of Guinea. A 'must read' for anyone interested in the political economy of petroleum or the renewed potential of the 'petro-developmental state'." -- Dan Danielsen, Professor of Law, Northeastern University