Quiz: What Does Nigeria Have That The US Wants?

If I’m not mistaken, and correct me if my assumption is wrong, you already know about the gigantic oil spill catastrophe that’s threatening the Gulf of Mexico?  If you don’t get off your butt and do some reading. 

If you don’t know about a similar but far more serious and far more longstanding catastrophe in Nigeria, I can’t say I’m surprised.

 Photograph: George Esiri/Reuters

No one cares about Africa.  But you know that, right? 

When was the last time--with the exception of the World Cup now going on in South Africa--that you read about, listened to, looked at anything having to do with Africa?  Not to worry, most other Americans probably don't remember. 

That being the case, you probably not aware of the oil catastrophes in Nigeria.  It’s in Africa—here’s a map of Africa.  See if you can find Nigeria on this helpful map.  Again, don't feel embarrassed:  Americans are pretty bad at geography.

To summarize so you’ll begin to see the connections between the oil catastrophe in Nigeria and the one in the Gulf of Mexico.  From The Guardian:

• The oil pipelines in Nigeria date back to the 1970s
• Each year more oil spills from oil company wells and pipelines that exceeds the amount of oil that so far has escaped into the Gulf of Mexico.
• Williams Mkpa, a community leader in Ibeno, told Guardian reporter, John Vidal,  that “Oil companies do not value our life; they want us all to die.  In the past two years, we have experienced 10 oil spills and fisherman can no longer sustain their families.
• 1 May 2010: For 7 days in May 2010, a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline spilled over a million gallons of crude oil into a river delta before it was contained.
• Nigeria supplies 40% of all imported crude oil for the US.

Now guess which oil companies operate in Nigeria.

For starters, Nigeria itself, taking about 33% of the total yearly production.

But read on


Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (since 1937)

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (since 1955)

Chevron Nigeria Limited (since 1961)

Texaco Overseas Nigeria Petroleum Company Unlimited (since 1961)

Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (since 1962)

Philip (since 1964)

Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (since 1972)--Bought Ashland Oil Nigeria Limited (1973)

Agip Energy Natural Resources (since 1979)

Statoil/BP Alliance (since 1992)

Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Limited (since 1992)

Texaco Outer Shelf Nigeria Limited (since 1992)

 Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company (since 1992)

Total (Nigeria) Exploration & Production Company Ltd. (since 1992)

Amoco Corporation (since 1992)

Chevron Exploration & Production Company (since 1992)

Conoco (since 1992)

Abacan (since 1992)


Beginning to make some connections now?  I hope so.

To learn more, visit the following links for starters—and you can always google "Nigeria oil" where you’ll find plenty of trails to follow on this subject:

Start with these:

Forbes.com  “The CSR Blog:  The latest word on corporate responsibility”

Sourcewatch.org  
Nigeria’s Oil Industry

BBC News

Nigeria’s Oil Wealth Shuns the Needy

National Geographic
“Curse of the Black Gold:  Hope and Betrayal on the Niger Delta

OPEC 
Facts and Figures:

Shell Nigeria

http://www.shell.com/home/content/nga/