O-17 NMR parameters, including chemical shift (CS) and electrical-field gradient (EFG) tensors, are calculated for oxalate compounds containing various different alkali ions using a DFT infinite periodic solid approach. This DFT study allows correlations to be found between the metal ion and oxygen interaction and the O-17 NMR interaction parameters. The O-17 CS shows greater sensitivity to the local alkali ions than that shown by the C-13 CS in the same compounds. It is found that the combination of metal ion-oxygen bond strength and cation size induce a deshielding shift up to similar to 70 ppm of O-17 delta(iso). The results also show the effects of different M-O interactions and C-O bond characteristics on the orientation of O-17 CS tensor components, and suggest that the O-17 quadrupolar parameters are systematically sensitive to the local cation environments around the carboxylate oxygen.