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Wealth and Poverty in the Niger Delta: A Study of the Experiences of Shell in Nigeria

In: International Businesses and the Challenges of Poverty in the Developing World

Author

Listed:
  • Frederick Bird

Abstract

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies has been extracting oil in the Niger Delta since 1958. By 2003 Nigeria’s oil export revenues had reached a total of US$290 billion (Litvin, 2003, p. 257). These revenues have benefited Shell and other multinational oil companies like Mobil, Texaco, Agip, Elf and Chevron also operating in Nigeria. They have provided the primary source of revenue for the Nigerian government, helped build a new national capital and enriched a number of high-ranking government officials. But after 45 years the people of the Niger Delta, one of the world’s largest wetlands, are practically as impoverished as they were in the 1950s. Natural capital, both in form of oil reserves and of potable and fishable water, has been significantly diminished. Per capita income for Nigerians in 2002 was US$260, less than at independence. Economic analyst Sarah Khan (1994) has called the history of the oil industry in Nigeria ‘one of missed opportunities, administrative disorganization and resource mismanagement’ (p. 2).1

Suggested Citation

  • Frederick Bird, 2004. "Wealth and Poverty in the Niger Delta: A Study of the Experiences of Shell in Nigeria," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Frederick Bird & Stewart W. Herman (ed.), International Businesses and the Challenges of Poverty in the Developing World, chapter 2, pages 34-63, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-52250-3_3
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230522503_3
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    Cited by:

    1. Emeka Nwankwo & Nelson Phillips & Paul Tracey, 2007. "Social Investment through Community Enterprise: The Case of Multinational Corporations Involvement in the Development of Nigerian Water Resources," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 91-101, June.
    2. Frederick Bird, 2016. "The Practice of Mining and Inclusive Wealth Development in Developing Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 631-643, June.

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