The Political Ecology of Oil and Gas Activities in the Nigerian Aquatic Ecosystem reviews the current status of the ecosystems and economic implications of oil and gas development in Nigeria, a key oil-producing state. The ecological and economic impacts of oil and gas development, particularly in developing nations, are crucial topics for ecologists, natural resource professionals and pollution researchers to understand. This book takes an integrative approach to these problems through the lens of one of the key oil-producing nations, linking natural and human systems through the valuation of ecosystem services. Provides background information on Nigerian aquatic environments, its local history of oil exploration and a review of the physical chemistry of crude oil Reviews global and national perspectives on the oil and gas industry from a physical ecological, to a socio-political and economic ecological perspective Demonstrates real-life situations of the interactions and impacts of Nigerian petroleum production on the environment and local populations through case studies
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producing country. Oil generates enormous wealth but also extensive and devastating conflict in the country. High Stakes and Stakeholders critically explores the oil conflict in Nigeria, its evolution, dynamics and most significantly, the interplay and consequences of high stake politics for the reproduction and persistence of the conflict. It presents a conceptual anatomy of state-oil industry-society relations and demonstrates how the embedded material interests and accumulation patterns of different stakeholders underlie, shape and complicate both the oil conflict and security. In addition, the book provides key insights into comparable conflicts elsewhere in the global south, developing a logical framework for resolving the oil conflict in Nigeria and for reforming the security sector. This book is valuable reading material for courses in international political economy, social ecology, development studies, African politics, conflict and security studies, and environmental law and management. It will also be of interest to policy practitioners, civil societies and the oil industry.
The Niger Delta is an oil-producing region in Southern Nigeria. It is rich in biodiversity and has abundant petroleum resources. Increased demand for Nigeria"s low sulphur oil shortly after Shell D"Arcy discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956 transformed Nigeria, previously an agrarian economy, into the largest oil producer in the continent of Africa. Today, oil dominates Nigeria"s export and contributes significantly to its foreign exchange earnings. With the commercialisation of oil in 1958, the federal government introduced new institutional mechanisms which set the stage for Nigeria"s fiscal centralism. These include a nationalised oil company (NNPC) established in 1971 and the distributable pool account introduced in 1966, subsequently renamed the federation account in 1979. In contrast to the fiscal arrangement in pre-oil Nigeria, these institutional mechanisms gave the federal government the legitimacy to retain a large proportion of the profits generated from the oil industry. But while the federal government and oil companies accumulate enormous profits from oil, violence became a part of everyday life in the Niger Delta. To a significant degree, the linkages between oil and violence in the Niger Delta is connected to discontent over the oil revenue distribution pattern, which has led to the emergence of violent groups in which youths, and male youths, in particular, are the main actors. These violent groups, known locally as "militants", are resisting the oil companies, local leaders, and the federal government who they blame for their experiences of violence. The media and official discourses characterise these violent groups as criminals and problematic and blame them for violence. So far, there has been little systematic effort to give these youths a voice in discussions about violence in the Niger Delta. Using a political ecology approach which combines Bourdieu"s thinking tools-(habitus, field and capital)-with Connell"s concept of hegemonic masculinity, this thesis seeks to understand petro-violence from the perspective of youths but male youths in particular. This means an analysis that prioritises how young people perceive, explain and justify their relationship with violence. The arguments in this thesis resulted mainly from 5 events of focus groups and in-depth interview with 84 youths mostly from two ethnic groups (Ijaw and Ogoni) who have experienced oil-related violence in both direct and indirect forms. It also includes in-depth interviews with 42 institutional representatives who have relevant knowledge about youth violence in the Niger Delta. The findings highlight the role of the political ecology of oil as well as institutional and social factors in shaping young people"s experiences of violence. Based on these findings, this thesis shifts away from an explanation of youth violence which focuses on youth (mis) behaviour and moves towards an analysis which locates young people"s relationship with violence within the broader social structures that contours their lives.
Fidelis Allen situates violent conflict in the Niger Delta in the context of failure by government to effectively implement relevant oil-related environmental policies intended to achieve sustainable development, arguing that oil and environment-related conflicts in the region are reflections of this failure. This failure is premised on the notion that the goal of sustainable development, as clearly outlined in Nigeria’s National Environmental Policy and implied in various other policies, can be pursued through the activities of government, individuals and business organisations that are capable of engendering economic and social progress for communities that depend on the environment for their survival. In fact, available evidence shows that government and oil company activities (or failures to act) actually contribute to the despoliation of the environment in the Niger Delta. Despite existing environmental legislations and guidelines, unsafe waste disposal, flaring of gas and oil spillage remain key features of oil industry operations in the Niger Delta. Not surprisingly, the book highlights a lack of synergy between government and oil company activities, and the attainment of sustainable development as a key goal of the environmental policy of the government. In other words, the activities of the government and oil companies do not sufficiently promote sustainable development. The net consequence is reflected in the frustrations of local justice and environmental movement groups about the political processes which deter (rather than enable) their agitation for improvements in local living conditions and development in the Niger Delta. Over time, those frustrations begin to manifest at different levels, including aggressive and violent behaviours against oil companies and government security agencies for their contributory roles.
This book presents a critical analysis of how oil and gas exploitation - with huge negative impacts on environment, development, and human security - has constructed a disturbing terrain of civil agitation, state repression, violent conflicts, and insecurity within Nigeria. Drawing on the nature and content of public policy and corporate social responsibility practices, the book interrogates the conflicts' communal and regional dimensions in terms of causality, dynamics, and interventions. In presenting strategies and mechanisms for resolving the diverse dimensions of the resource conflicts, it charts the way towards sustainable development and conflict transformation - two issues which would remain germane to the resource conflict resolution discourse in the specific case of the Niger Delta and beyond. (Series: Politics and Economics in Africa - Vol. 7)
An examination of the origins, nature and trend of,capitalist development promoted by Shell and the,Nigerian State in the Delta region. Omoweh,incorporates a critical analysis of how the,environment and economies of oil producing,countries have been steadily damaged over the,years by Shell and the state, in comparison with,the actions of other foreign oils companies like,Chevron and Mobil. He looks at the patterns of,protest the inhabitants of oil producing,communities have used to resist underdevelopment,and examines the responses of Shell and the state.
