This article focuses on the importance of parliamentary oversight of the extractive industries in the South African context, and examines the potential of the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) towards serving the South African parliament vis-a-vis oversight of extractive resources. It points to the merits of strong oversight, and the importance of independent and nonpartisan analysis by the PBO in achieving this fiscal objective in South Africa. Finally, it applies two methods, a process approach and a discipline approach, to specify the benefits of the PBO to parliamentary oversight of the extractive industries.