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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Uncertainty of Oil

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This paper argues that uncertainty is intricately entwined with temporalities and aff ects. Taking the uncertain future of oil in Gabon as my ethnographic example, I trace fi ve versions with which people contemplate depletion: a scenario, a vision / plan, a calculation, a dream, and a desire. I show how these versions not only diff er in their prognosis, but also conjure up diverse histories, temporalities and aff ects that, ultimately, entail fairly distinct forms of uncertainty.