S- HELL, in Nigeria

The Niger Delta in Nigeria is the biggest oil producer of petroleum. It has 70,000 km of landmass that have oil rivers all through it, including many oil rigs and refineries. Shell Petroleum Development Company is the co. that is stationed in Africa with its many refineries. The production of petroleum is about 2 million barrels a day. The production gives Nigeria 75% of there export earnings. But not only does it give the Nigerian government alot of money, but it also led to alot of pollution, violence, and poverty. From the years 1970-2000 there has been 7,000 oil spills. Also, Shell flares about the equivelent of 41% of Africas natural gas consumption. In 2003 Shell flared about 99% of there excess gas(waste gas). This leads to more pollution in the air and the most greenhouse gas emmissions on the planet.

Because of the pollution the some 31 million people of the Niger Delta are not happy with the government. The government lets one of the biggest slums located there continue to get worse and worse. Millions of people reside there so they could run there own businesses and try to make money, but because so many people go and sell things at there market, nobody makes enough to make a living off of. Of all of the money that comes from exporting the petroleum in Nigeria, none of it goes to improving the towns and villages. This causes the people to get even angrier at them, to the point a miltia is formed. A malitia called MEND (Movement for the Emancipated of the Niger Delta), there goal is to totally cripple the Nigerian government from producing oil. They are very mad that the oil recovery has led to destruction of there land. Many rivers hold less and less fish for them to get for food, and less and less plants grow where oil poisons there land. And they have nobody to blame but the oil companies. Untill they leave they threat that more and more oil workers will be held hostage, and maybe even more bombs will get closer and closer to there gates. Whatever it takes, they want Shell and its workers to leave their land.