SOAS Research Online

Abstract

It was early in this century that some interested companies and individuals from Britain came to search for oil and other minerals in what was then the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. A great deal has happened since those early days: oil has "been discovered in very considerable quantities and significant progress has been made in the development of production. But, to the best of our knowledge, no detailed and comprehensive study of the development of this important industry and its implications for the Nigerian economy has so far been made. The present study is an attempt to fill this important gap. The first two chapters are historical; the first reviews the history of oil exploration in Nigeria from the turn of the century to the discovery of the first commercial oilfield, while the second takes the story up to 1966. The next four chapters consist of an examination of supply and price, including an estimate of development-operating cost. Chapter Seven examines the petroleum policy of the Federal Government and is followed in Chapter Eight by a discussion of the impact of oil operations on the local economy. Needless to say that because of the international character of the oil industry many of the subjects covered in the study have been treated in their international context. Apart from considerations of the interests of the producing country, a regional study such as this is, in our view, also important from the point of view of the oil industry as a whole. Given the structure and organization of the industry, the discovery of important new sources of oil is of great international significance because of the potential effects of the new sources on established patterns of production and trade, and on pricing arrangements - subjects which are of great interest to students of the industry.;SPECIAL NOTE One of the ultimate consequences of the tragic events in Nigeria in the second half of 1966 was that on May 30, 1967, the Eastern Region - the source of a preponderant proportion of the country's oil resources - seceded from the Federation to become the REPUBLIC OF BIAFRA. By the time this event took place the bulk of the research work for this study, and much of the writing, had already been done. (The completion of the final manuscript was however delayed by a number of difficult problems, among which was the discontinuation of my research grant by the Nigerian Military Government). Consequently, and because the study has in the main been carried up to the end of 1966, no account has been taken of political developments in the Federation after 1966. Also, we have not discussed the effects on, or the implications for, the oil industry of the Nigeria/Biafra conflict. However, it is our fervent hope that the study will still be of some use to the various governments and interested parties when this futile war is over.