Oil Industry And Its Effects On The Economy

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.

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

For example, Shell Oil, an MNC (Multi National Corporation), extracted 50% of Nigeria’s yearly crude output, and 14% of its own output from the Niger delta region (The Changing Nature of Third World Exploitation, 1995). Though a large number of the local populace was recruited by Shell to serve as the basic labor force, there has been no change in the deplorable conditions the locals were living in. Over a period of 15 years, due to massive and widespread oil spills, heavy land degradation of the alluvial soil has taken place. The locals, who come from an agriculture based society, have in effect, been deprived of their ancestral way of life, their heritage, all due to the greed driven actions of the partly

Nigeria, with a population of 190,584,690 people is the most populous country in West Africa. Marked with huge reserves of oil and natural gas, oil exploration in Nigeria first began in the year 1908, with long breaks during the first and Second World War. After the further discovery of commercial oil fields in Oloibiri in 1956, crude oil has since being produced in large quantities. Today, the country produces a maximum capacity of 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, and is the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil. Crude oil export, accounts for 90% of Nigeria’s earnings. Oil exploration occurs onshore, on land and swamps, while off-shore operations occur mainly in water depths reaching 2500m. Currently, crude oil is

The "Curse of the Black Gold" is what they call it. The greasy money-making liquid can also cause the undoing of countries. Oil companies like Shell sometimes make as much money as the country they do business in. The hazards that come with extracting oil is understated while the rewards are often praised. To the companies, we are not important, it is the money we carry in our pockets that they care about. Shell, a billion-dollar making oil company, is slowly gaining a lot of recognition in countries as it is causing a lot of corruption due to several accidents as well as its influence on global warming. The company is most known for its fracking practices as well as its impact on Nigerian villages.

By the same token, the movie “Big Men” reveals the deprave business practices in Nigeria and Ghana, labeling Nigeria one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Between 1960 and 1999, the Nigerian government wasted over 440 billion dollars of Nigerian profit, mainly from oil wealth. Despite the majority of the oil being drawn from the Niger Delta, a very impoverished region, the natives of that region have no access to this abundant, valuable resource (00:25). Militant groups began to form in opposition to the oil corporations, intentionally cutting and sabotaging pipelines to get a part of the wealth. In addition to being selfish in their profits, businesses promoted the devastation and intentional deterioration of resident towns to distract from their unjust oil bunkering endeavors (01:05). Natives, specifically those who participate in oil pipe sabotaging, describe their situations as the equivalent of “shooting themselves in the foot”, as they hate that they are destroying their towns and worsening their circumstances, but see no other option for retribution. Fires

In 1994, Equatorial Guinea was one of the most impoverished countries in Africa. During that time, the country had an incredibly low life expectancy of just 46 years, and the inhabitants were forced to survive on only $1 a day. Then, in 1995, they discovered a natural resource that would have the potential to change their economic well-being and quality of life forever. In this year, Equatorial Guinea discovered an immense amount of oil right off the coast of the country. Just nine years after this finding, all major US oil companies, notably Exxon-Mobile, Marathon Oil, and Amerada Hess, were drilling for oil in this once poverty-stricken country. After this notable discovery, Equatorial Guinea was generating $4 billion in revenue per year solely from the oil drilling industry. However, the inexperienced leaders that governed the country entered into a contract where they agreed to give 80%

Since the Industrial Revolution in the United States and around the world, crude oil has been a hot commodity – and unfortunately, a commodity that is non-renewable. An aspect of globalization has been the increase in the oil industry; with so many buyers for oil – gasoline companies for vehicles and machinery, especially – countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and other countries have become economic stars in the global economy. Up until recently, Africa had had few major producers of this precious liquid, until the twentieth century, specifically in Nigeria. In the small delta region of Nigeria exist over 40 ethnic groups with 250 distinct dialects, specific traditional religious and cultural practices, and, being first contacted by the Portuguese in the late 1400’s, a long history of western contact (Lagassé 2000). The modern, overarching name for these groups is “Ijaw”, transmuted and then anglicized from “Izon”(also called “Ijon”, “Ijo”, or “Ujo”), meaning “truth” in their language (Ijaw Dictionary Project). They have existed harmoniously and prosperously in the delta region of Nigeria, practicing a vivacious lifestyle for centuries. However, since the 1950’s, when a wealth of natural oil was discovered in that region, these groups have been battling to preserve their health, culture, and peace in the face of a brutal globalization campaign led by oil companies and banking enterprises alike.

The poor relationship between the oil companies and the communities in the Niger Delta is not sudden, it 's historical context dates back to as early as the 1930 's and 1950 's. It was 1937 when two British oil companies merged into what today is known as Shell. Shell replaced the initial German oil company in the area from 1908 (Umejesi, 117). Shell set up impressive human and material forces and conducted their first drilled oil well in 1951 in the city of Iho. Worry quickly struck everyone in Nigeria. Shell worried they would not find

Nigeria and Angola are both West African countries plagued by the resource curse. The countries are teeming with oil, ranking Nigeria as Africa’s largest oil producer and Angola as the second largest oil producer. In 2014, it was reported that Nigeria was responsible for producing 2.4 million barrels of oil per day and Angola produced 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. While these numbers have fluctuated greatly in the past, both countries still remain at the top as Africa’s oil producers (Carpenter; Ajayi). The production of oil in Nigeria and Angola has brought in a great deal of profit to both countries, however, it has also come along with a number of complications. As Ajayi writes, “fuel abundance in less developed countries tends to

Oil for over a decade has been the main source of income for the Nigerian economy. It accounts for more than 70% of export.The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has been plagued with different negative effects of oil exploration. The environment, economy and even quality of human life have been greatly affected. This has created a lack of trust between the inhabitants and the oil companies, and even with the Nigerian government.

oil in Nigeria. Nigeria’s large supply of high quality crude oil helped Shell climb to the top,

Nigeria is an Agricultural and oil rich nation but characterised by Political instability, corruption, poor

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.

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.