Government Of The Oil Refinery : An Important Stakeholder And Enacts Various Laws Essay

Situated along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea is a region about the size of South Carolina that offers a land full of sweet, light crude oil, known as the Niger Delta (Delta). The Delta sits within the country of Nigeria in West Africa and is in a constant state of crisis, underpinned by a multitude of key issues. Those issues include severe poverty, soil and water contamination, high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, depletion of natural resources, corruption, and armed militia groups. These issues have one thing in common: oil.

The legal, the neighborhood government and the central government ought to work as an inseparable unit to control the petroleum gas industry. They ought to ensure that the direction of this vitality industry does not impacts affect the general wellbeing by;

The petroleum trade in chad was supposed to seriously help the poverty rate and benefit the country but it seems it's done just about the opposite. Even though the oil trade brings in money it has negatively affected the local people ESPECIALLY the people around the petroleum extraction itself. For example In the Eastern Logone region that includes the Doba Oil Basin and about 38% of Chad's population was rated 3rd poorest region of chad despite the hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil exported. the other affects on the people are endless and further contamination is always a hazard. There already has been some contamination there have been drainage canals have polluted the surface including the groundwater used by the locals,infertile and contaminated quarries have been returned to farmers without being cleaned or secured,rivers have been sullied by oil spills. These are just some of the environmental impacts the oil trade has on Chad and I think this is a good example that not all companies and corporations can benefit a country even if they bring in money. The oil trade in Chad is a very controversial topic especially in chad there are benefits economically but there are also environmental

Niger Delta region, placing the Nigerian oil output down to a third of its capacity” (Klare 3).

Kuwait is recorded to have the largest spill of oil in history measuring to about 1 million barrels. Oil spills around the world have caused major catastrophes. Therefore, the United States government have provided a policy to help prevent the devastations and protect the environment as God intended us to do. By learning the history of the Oil Pollution Act, how to help prevent the spills, and knowing how our environment can suffer from the tragedies are ways of learning how our government is involved in our society today. How does the Oil Pollution Act affect our environment?

In the United States oil consumption is an everyday occurrence, for every citizen. Our country without oil would not be able to function properly within all aspects of life. Our political, transportation and economics systems would all encounter drastic affects if there were no oil to transform into petroleum. Due to our huge dependency on petroleum products, oil companies like British Petroleum (BP), Exxon Mobil, and Saudi Aramco hold extreme power over many countries and make billions off our need to live our daily lives. The extraction of oil from these companies are causing life altering effects for future generations, by causing major environmental complications. Each of the three main oil companies have experienced oil spills that were damaging to the environments around them and gain the global attention, because of the size of the oils spills and the lack of effort to accurately clean the spills.

On April 20, 2010, one of the most horrific accidents occurred in regards to the oil and gas industry. An oil rig exploded not far off the coast of Louisiana. People were injured and even killed. Thick, brown oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying beaches and wildlife. Researchers and scientists were forced to find new ways to clean up the oil, in a quick and efficient manner. The immediate and lasting effects of the BP oil spill having caused numerous issues both physically and emotionally. BP has faced consequences for their mistakes and they have since made multiple changes to better the safety and quality of their company to prevent problems like these to happen again. Society should take a look at what happened during and after the oil spill and learn from the experience. I learned a lot about the topic after writing this research paper, and I have a new respect for the people that work in the oil and gas industry. I had no idea how much they risk every time they step foot on an oil rig.

Jonah Gbemre instituted a lawsuit on behalf of himself and the Iwhereken Community in Delta State, in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria against Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Ltd, NNPC and the Attorney General of the Federation . Alleging violations of both constitutional provisions and those of the African Charter under the fundamental rights enforcement procedure in the Nigerian constitution, the Plaintiffs claimed that sections 33(1) and 34(1) of the constitution, their right to life and the dignity of the human person and articles 4, 16 and 24 of the African Charter had been violated by the oil exploration and production activities of Shell, which led to incessant gas flaring . In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that the continuous gas flaring by the MNCs had led to the pollution of the environment, exposing the community to the risk of premature death, respiratory illnesses, asthma and cancer . Their crop production was alleged to have been ruined by pollution thereby adversely affecting their food security . Furthermore, many of the natives were said to have died with many more were suffering from various illnesses causing the Plaintiffs to complain that the community had been left in a state of gross underdevelopment . One of the many grounds on which the defendants hinged their case, according to Amao, was that the quoted articles of the African Charter , under the Nigerian fundamental rights enforcement procedure, do not create enforceable rights . Due

that the industry has on Nigeria’s environment. Since the drilling for oil began in Nigeria,

The Standard Oil Company of California(Socal) is trying to determine how much to bid on the Gulf Oil Corporation. George Keller, the CEO of Socal, would need to borrow 14 billion dollars in order to make a substantial bid. While banks are willing to lend the money because of Socal's low to debt ratio, the loan would put the company in a highly leveraged position. In order to alleviate that debt, some of Gulf's assets could be sold. Keller has to consider the value of Gulf's exploration and development program when calculating future returns. Two billion dollars were being spent on the exploration and development program. This money could instead be used to reduce the debt if Socal acquired the company. However, the exploration program

particularly in the Niger Delta region. The people in this region are dissatisfied for many

Most children in the Niger delta have little or no education, due to lack of funds from their parents who have lost their lands and have no jobs because of limited opportunities. The Niger delta government and the oil companies have refused to look into the situation; instead they favor their close relations neglecting the masses. Corruption in the Niger delta has led some youths in taking drastic measure in order to put food on their table. For example, Ikechukwu Efe an indigene of the Niger delta said that some of his friends created their own “oil refinery”, which is made up of crude oil in metal barrels with controlled heat from fire woods. This is a dangerous process in refining crude oil but the degree of poverty in the state left his friends with no choice. If only the government of the Niger delta have created jobs with the wealth of the state Ikechukwu’s friend would not have to put their lives in danger. Until corruption is put to an abrupt the people of the Niger delta will continue to live in poverty.

The oil industry can not be discussed without mentioning the name John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller changed the business of oil distribution. In the 19th century Rockefeller began his humble beginnings with a small investment, along with two other partners, in the oil refining business. Eventually Rockefeller upset at the direction of the company bought out his partners. He was now buying into refining and developing kerosene and other petroleum-based products. He later named this company The Standard Oil Company which by 1872 nearly owned all the oil refineries in Cleveland. In 1882, Rockefeller took all his holdings and merged them into the Standard Oil Trust. Through smart business

World oil demand is increasing as emerging economies need more energy to increase their living standards. Estimates, shown below, are that by 2030, China and India as emerging markets will import over 70% to 90% of their fossil fuel needs (1) . Coupled to a continued high and growing demand for oil, makes this a robust market for the next 30 years.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.