Why do Equatorial Guinea and Angola face incredible economic deficits despite aggressive foreign investment in the extraction and sale of their hydrocarbon resources? Additionally, what role, if any, does international investment law play in reinforcing relationships of dependence and subordination between economies in the Global North and economies in the Global South? I answer these questions through an evaluation of the legal provisions of the bilateral investment treaty between the United Kingdom and Angola. I also analyze the provisions of Angola’s 2012 production sharing contract and Equatorial Guinea’s 2017 production sharing contract with multinational oil companies. By doing so, I demonstrate that international investment law allows foreign investors to enclave their investments from the local economy which separates the economy from the trickle-down benefits of foreign investment. I close with provisional notes on strategies Southern economies can use to exert more control over foreign investments in their territories.