Oil Industry In Niger Delta Case Study

“In 1956, Shell British Petroleum (now Royal Dutch Shell) discovered crude oil at a village Oloibiri in Bayelsa state located within the Niger Delta of Nigeria“(Onuoha, 2008; Anifowose, 2008, as cited in Kadafa & Adati Ayuba, 2012). Since the beginning of the emergence of oil industry in Niger Delta region, the area has been greatly impacted by various problems in every aspect. The problem became worst when the production of hydrocarbon resources has started to be commercialized in 1958. Oil industry in Niger Delta has consumed a large area to operate with more than 31,000 square kilometers of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) itself (Oshwofasa, Anuta, David & Aiyedogbon, 2012). Even though the oil industry has brought up the development

This region generates income from abundant oil resources that can be used in development of the area. Oshwofasa, et al. (2012) mentions, “Petroleum and derivatives dominate the Nigerian economy making up about 98 percent of exports, over 80 percent of government’s annual revenue and 70 percent of budgetary expenditure”. Unfortunately, half of people in Niger Delta still live in poverty as the oil company resist to conduct social corporate responsibility while the locals continues to suffer from the destructive effect of the oil industry. The main cause in explaining this issue is the unconcerned government in neglecting the destruction made by the irresponsible operation management of the oil companies to Niger Delta region people for their own profit. In other word, people in Niger Delta get nothing from the region income distribution except the environmental problems. Besides the public health impact due to the environmental degradation, the unemployment issues have become one of the factors in vandalism act in this region. Based on Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation report in June 2000, as mentions in Eweje (2006), among 525 pipeline damage in 1999, about 95 percent is due to vandalism while the remaining is pipeline corrosion factor. Eweje also states that the negligence by the government and multinational company has led to the emergence of local people from various group movements in early 1990s while some local conducted illegal behavior by sabotage the pipeline. The worst condition is even the law does not stand against the human right violation. Clause 44 of the 1999 Constitution, as cited in Oshwofasa, et al. (2012), states that “the entire property and control of all minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in, under or upon any land in Nigeria or in, under or upon the territorial waters and the Exclusive