For more than 50 years, crude oil and natural gas production in the Niger Delta has brought huge profits to a privileged few, but at a high cost to local residents. Nigeria, the world's 8th largest crude oil supplier, remains one of the poorest nations, with about 70% of its 150 million people living below the poverty line. Oil extraction causes enormous damage to the environment. About 500 million gallons of oil have already spilled into the river delta. The situation is also aggravated by a number of factors, such as poor quality equipment and maintenance, weak controls, militant attacks and illegal mining, not to mention political instability and corruption. According to data published by WikiLeaks, Shell Oil has people in all major ministries in Nigeria and is thus able to influence key government decisions.


Crude oil gushes from a pipeline in Dadabili, Niger state, April 2, 2011. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)


Oil flows past a sunken boat near an oil refinery facility in Ogoniland near Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, March 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)


A woman carries dried tapioca seeds near a gas torch near Warri, Nigeria, April 20, 2007. (Lionel Healing/AFP/Getty Images)


Children row a boat past an oil pipe near their home in Andoni village, Rivers State, Nigeria, April 12, 2011. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)


Aerial view of an oil facility and crude oil slicks in a mangrove swamp near Wari, Nigeria. (© Google/GeoEye)


A man looks at an oil facility on the Nun River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, October 26, 2006. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)



A woman places washed clothes on oil pipes that pass through the Okrika area of ​​Port Harcourt in the oil-rich Niger Delta, Nigeria, October 7, 2006. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)


An aerial view of the Total oil platform at Amenem, 35 km from Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, April 14, 2009. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)


A gas flare burns on the Total oil platform off the coast of Nigeria, April 14, 2009. Gas flaring is a common practice in the oil industry to destroy associated gas that cannot be properly used. Burning excess gas is detrimental to the environment because combustion produces huge amounts of toxic substances that have negative health effects and can lead to climate change. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)



Nigerian oil companies are the second largest in the world in terms of volumes of gas flared. In 2008, approximately 15.1 billion cubic meters were flared, or about 70% of all gas produced that year. There are so many gas flares that the Niger Delta (bottom left) appears lit up in this image of planet Earth at night. (Image from a 2003 NASA map by Robert Simmon, based on data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line Scanner, processed by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center)



Google Earth shows an oil facility and two gas flares (top left) near Ogbogwu, Nigeria. (© Google/GeoEye)


Natural gas burns near an oil facility in Abama, Bayelasa State, Nigeria, March 12, 2004. (Reuters/Tom Ashby)


A Nigerian child is silhouetted against a gas flare near Royal Dutch Shell's Utorogu oil facility in the Niger Delta on April 16, 2004. (Reuters/George Esiri RSS)


An aerial view of an illegal crude oil extraction facility in Ogoniland near Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, March 24, 2011. Illegal crude oil producers deprive Nigerian and foreign companies of millions of dollars in profits every year. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


An illegal crude oil extraction facility in the Ogoni people's territory in the Niger Delta, July 7, 2010. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


An aerial view of an illegal crude oil extraction facility, tanks and an oil-contaminated area in Ogoniland near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, March 24, 2011. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


Smoke rises from an illegal crude oil extraction site in Ogoniland near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, March 24, 2011. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


Shuttles used to transport crude oil to refineries float off the banks of a river in Ogoniland near Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, March 24, 2011. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


A reporter takes pictures of mangrove trees killed by an oil spill in a river near the town of Bodo in the oil-rich Niger Delta on June 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)


An aerial view of an oil spill site in the Niger Delta in Ogoni territory, June 7, 2010. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


A man stirs up water to show reporters that oil has leaked in the Niger Delta in Ogoni territory on June 10, 2010. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)


A young man in a canoe with a hose to pump oil from an oil puddle on a river near the Bodo settlement in the Ogoni region, June 10, 2010. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)



An aerial view of a small village located on an island near the site of an oil spill in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta, July 7, 2010. (Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye)



A child looks at an abandoned oil well leaking oil at Kegbara Dere in Ogoni territory. (Lionel Healing/AFP/Getty Images)



A port near the oil and gas terminal on Bonny Island, Nigeria, which is the main shipping point for crude oil from the Niger Delta. (© Google/GeoEye)



Royal Dutch Shell's oil and gas terminal is located on Bonny Island in the southern Niger Delta on May 18, 2005. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)



Local residents stand near a Royal Dutch Shell Nigerian pipeline in the town of Bodo in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta on June 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)


Wooden ships carrying crude oil, intercepted by troops from illegal producers, are engulfed in flames in the Andoni area of ​​Rivers State, Nigeria, April 12, 2011. The battle group seized a barge carrying large quantities of crude oil and burned wooden vessels used by illegal miners to siphon oil from pipelines. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)



Crude oil floats on the surface of a swamp in the Niger Delta near Bodo village in Ogoniland, home of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, in Rivers State, Nigeria, June 24, 2010. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)



photographed in front of a plume of smoke from a burning oil pipeline near the town of Kegbara Dere, which is located approximately 55 km from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on April 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)


Police officers and officials stand near a charred skeleton that lies on the ground near an exploded gas pipeline, in the village of Ilado, 45 km east of Lagos, Abuja, Nigeria, May 12, 2006. A damaged gas pipeline exploded while villagers were trying to get fuel. The explosion killed up to 200 people. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

We often hear that Russia is called a country sitting on an “oil needle.” However, there are many countries in the world that are heavily dependent on energy exports, such as Saudi Arabia, Norway, Qatar, etc. They all benefit from it to varying degrees. But there is also a country like Nigeria, which is one of the top ten world leaders in oil production. I propose to look at how this mining is carried out there (including by Western companies) and how people live there.

First, a little about the country itself.

NIGERIA, Federal Republic of Nigeria located in West Africa, on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Area - 923,770 sq. km.

Back in the 1st - 2nd millennium BC. e. in the north of the country there was a highly developed Nok culture, familiar with iron processing and agriculture. In ancient times, there were several state entities on the territory of Nigeria, about which little is known. More complete information is available about the states of the Early Middle Ages, the largest of which are Oyo and Benin in the south, Kanem-Bornu and Katsino in the north. The most powerful state was Benin, created by the Edo people. Crafts were developed here; there was a regular army, a system of central government and taxation. Many other peoples formed small monarchical structures, which by the beginning. 19th century united into the feudal-theocratic Sokoto Empire. From ser. 19th century The British began active activities in Nigeria. In 1885, the British Oil Rivers Protectorate was established in the coastal region from Lagos to Cameroon. In 1906, it expanded significantly into the interior of the country and became known as the Colony of Southern Nigeria. Around the same time, the lands of the northern regions were also subordinated and in 1914 they were united into the colony of Nigeria.

In 1960, Nigeria gained independence. However, throughout almost the entire period of colonial history, numerous tribes of the country were at enmity with both the colonialists and each other. This led to the 1966 military coup and civil war. The southeastern Christian Ibo tribes declared an independent "Republic of Biafra" and attempted to separate completely from Nigeria, where Hausa and Fulani Muslims held power. As a result of the hostilities, approx. 1 million people After several years of military rule, the first government elections were held in 1979, but already in 1985 a series of military coups began, aggravated by the flourishing of religious fanaticism and inter-tribal conflicts. Hope for a change in the situation appeared in 2003, when, after the first, more or less objective elections, according to independent observers, a president came to power, proclaiming a course towards modernizing the economy and quickly establishing peace in Nigeria.

The head of state is the president, elected for a 4-year term. A bicameral parliament consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives, elected for the same term. Geographically, Nigeria is divided into 36 states, each of which has its own government.

In terms of population (133.88 million people), the country ranks 1st in Africa. On the territory of modern Nigeria, all the main nationalities of Africa are actually represented. Hausa and Fulani make up approximately 29% of the population, Yoruba 21%, Ibo 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibo 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%. The official language is English, and local languages ​​are widely spoken. Muslims make up 50% of the population, Christians - 40%, and about 10% adhere to local beliefs. It is characteristic that Christianity is represented by a variety of branches: Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and Methodists. 60% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Gross domestic product in 2002 was $112.5 billion, or approx. $900 per capita. Agriculture provides 20% of GDP, industry - 45%, services - 35%. The main industry is oil and gas production. Nigeria is one of the top ten world leaders in oil production and is a member of OPEC. Of the other minerals discovered in the country (tin, iron ore, lead, zinc, columbite), only coal and tin are mined, on the basis of which non-ferrous metallurgy has developed. The manufacturing industry is represented by oil refining, petrochemicals, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, pulp and paper, textile and food industries. Agriculture employs 70% of the population; crop production predominates. The main cultivated crops are yams, sorghum, millet, peas, maize, cotton, peanuts, oil palm, cocoa, and hevea. Currently, only cocoa and rubber are exported.


June 7, 2010. Aerial photograph of a village on an island near the site of the Ogoni oil spill. Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye


April 11, 2007. In Kegbara Dere, a child looks at abandoned oil wells with spilled oil. Lionel Healing/AFP/Getty Images


The oil port base at Bonny is where most of the oil produced in the Niger Delta passes through. Google/GeoEye


May 18, 2005. Royal Dutch Shell oil and gas terminals on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images


June 20, 2010. Locals stand around the manifold of Royal Dutch Shell's subsidiary in Bodo City. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba


April 12, 2011. A fire rages on wooden oil boats seized by the military in Andoni in Nigeria's Rivers state. A joint task force, composed of different military units, seized a barge with a huge amount of stolen oil. The boats used by thieves to siphon oil from pipelines were burned. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images


June 24, 2010. Spilled oil in the swamps surrounding the village of Bodo in Ogoniland in Rivers State, where the Nigerian representative office of the Shell Petroleum Development Company is located. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images


April 19, 2007. Smoke from a burning oil pipeline behind the woman. An oil pipeline near the town of Kegbara Dere, 55 kilometers from Port Harcourt, caught fire two weeks ago. AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam


May 12, 2006. Police and officials stand over the remains of a skeleton near a gas pipeline that exploded in a coastal village 45 kilometers east of Lagos. Gas leaking from a cracked gas pipeline exploded as local residents tried to pump out the free fuel. The resulting flames killed about 200 people, whose charred remains were scattered throughout the surrounding area. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba


April 2, 2011. Oil spill in Dadabili in Niger State. Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde

sources
http://www.theatlantic.com
http://21region.org
http: //turmir.com/

In this oil-refining country, motorists are often left without gasoline. Kilometer-long queues form at empty gas stations, and traffic on the streets comes to a standstill. Only some shady characters sell fuel from canisters at ten times the price of oil companies. No, this is not Russia. This distant country, which produces 2 million barrels a day and supplies the US market with 8% of all oil consumed there, is located thousands of kilometers away from us, in Africa. This is Nigeria.

During the oil boom of the 70s, Nigeria seemed very promising. At that time, its GDP per capita was one thousand dollars, and the country had a standard of living comparable to that of Taiwan. Today. Nigeria ranks 13th on the list of the poorest countries in the world, and its per capita GDP does not exceed $200 per year. As the American magazine Newsweek notes, the country's impoverishment is mainly the result of the military's theft of billions of petrodollars. Last year, oil sales brought in $8 billion to Nigeria, accounting for 90% of its foreign exchange earnings.

Nowadays, the posh area of ​​Lagos - Victoria, where the offices of multinational corporations and embassies are located - is perceived as an illusion. The sea coast of Bar Beach could be a pleasant beach, however, it is all littered with garbage. The city grew enormously thanks to the oil boom. Over 30 years, its number has increased 10 times. Lagos mosaic is replete with contradictions and contrasts, an incredible combination of modernity and tradition. There's a naked beggar wandering through the crowd. But a living anachronism drives by in a Mercedes - the “city leader” from the Yoruba people in traditional attire.

After the discovery of the first offshore oil field in 1958, Nigeria became one of the leading exporters of this raw material. Shell, Mobil, Elf and several other international companies immediately decided to take advantage of the country's hydrocarbon resources. As a result, NNNK, the main partner of the joint ventures, now receives about 75% of the proceeds from oil sales. The rest goes to provide technical support, salaries and payments to foreign partners.

Oil is produced mainly in the Niger Delta. As the bright equatorial sun sets below the horizon, the dark Nigerian sky over the delta begins to flicker with the lights of numerous oil rigs. But despite its enormous natural wealth (Nigeria is the world's sixth-largest oil exporting country), residents of the swampy delta live in extreme poverty, often without electricity, clean water or even fuel. One of the poor villages is located a few hundred meters from a huge oil field where Shell oil reserves are located. “We don’t have electricity,” says one resident named Denne, “but we get at least some light.”

The situation is worst for residents of the delta, whose houses are located directly on vast oil fields. “They take everything from us, but they give us nothing in return,” said Tony Okpokparovo, a farmer from Oni town near Port Hacourt. “But they are developing our mineral resources.” One of the military governments decreed that the land above the oil fields was federal property. At the same time, the authorities, either through inability or unwillingness, have done very little to help the residents of the delta. Civil unrest, protests, clashes, captures of foreign specialists are a direct result of this.

Indeed, Shell and other foreign companies play a major role in the development of local communities. In 1998 alone, Shell spent $36 million on programs to support communities in the areas of education, infrastructure and health. According to company officials, their motivation has nothing to do with altruism - rather, this help is necessary to prevent possible sabotage and unrest, which are sometimes difficult to avoid. Thus, of the 173 small oil leaks across the entire network of Shell fields in the River State in 1998, about 80 were caused by sabotage. According to local residents, after oil leaks, compensation from Western companies could bring them more income than cassava and corn harvests.

In 1998, $200 million was allocated to maintain the four main refineries. According to the Ministry of Finance, all this money disappeared without a trace. Ministers denied all accusations, but were unable to explain why none of the refineries operated for so long due to complete equipment failure. As a result, until very recently, Nigeria, a country located on a huge oil field, was forced to import fuel. “We can see that oil companies and the military are getting rich, while our people are left with nothing,” Nigerian John Nwodo lamented in an interview with the AP. The Nigerian Constitution stipulates that 13% of oil export revenues must be used to support communities living in the field. According to Shell officials, this is not happening. “Of course, 13% of the income does go, but not to the communities,” says Deirdre Lyapin, a former US government adviser and now a Shell board member.

Another major oil company, Mobil, settled in the town of Kwa Ibo in the oil state of Akwa Ibom 29 years ago. From time to time, oil pipelines also break there and oil spills occur. These pipelines connect 14 offshore drilling platforms and deliver oil and gas to the Kwa Ibo oil terminal. In 1998, in a place where oil pipelines burst, about 40 thousand tons of oil spilled into the Atlantic. Over the many years of exploitation of Nigeria's raw material wealth, such a catastrophe has never happened. Environmentalists estimate that the black film that covered sea waters as a result of this leak extended for 200 km along the coast of Akwa Ibom state. To combat this disaster, which threatened marine fauna, the company's management called in planes, helicopters, ships and specialists from the UK and the USA.

Profitable contracts for joint production have also attracted new partners to Nigeria - Total, Statoil, British Petroleum - who are exploring promising areas in the open sea a hundred kilometers from the coast. These oil companies are comfortable considering all scenarios for Nigeria's political future, as it is possible to supply crude oil to floating production, storage and transhipment facilities anchored at sea, eliminating much of the risk associated with instability in the country. In total, there are 10 multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria.

Oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1901. Industrial development of the deposits began in 1956.

Since 1971, Nigeria has been a member of OPEC. In 2007, it ranked 8th in oil exports in the world. In 2008, oil production amounted to about 2.17 million barrels per day. Nigeria's OPEC quota is 2.224 million barrels per day. Nigeria produces about 572 thousand barrels of petroleum products daily, of which about 67 thousand barrels are exported.

Proven oil reserves, according to various sources, are estimated from 25 billion to 36 billion barrels.

65% of produced oil is light grades with low sulfur content. The main export varieties are Bonny Light and Forcados.

Oil production is carried out by joint ventures of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and transnational corporations Shell (controls up to 52% of production), ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Total and Addax.

The oil sector provides Nigeria with up to 20% of GDP, up to 95% of export earnings and provides up to 80% of budget revenues. In 2003, oil revenues amounted to about $22 billion. By 2006, Nigeria's oil income reached 2.4 billion euros, and Nigeria itself was in 6th place in oil production in the world

Nigeria is one of the main suppliers of oil to Western Europe and ranks fifth in crude oil supplies to the United States. In June 2004, Nigerian oil supplies to the United States reached 1.2 million barrels per day, representing 9.3% of American crude oil imports.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the activities of foreign companies have been hampered by non-governmental armed groups, such as the MEND, the Bakassi Boys, the Egbesu African Boys, and the Niger Delta People's Volunteers, who carry out bombings and take foreign workers (expats) hostage. In 2009, amid the global recession, it was reported that attacks by Nigerian militants on oil production facilities were having a significant impact on world oil market prices.

gasoline oil refining shell

London. September 24. website— On a warm Christmas night in 2006, hundreds of residents on the far northwestern outskirts of Nigeria's oil capital Lagos gathered around a nearby section of a pipeline run by the state-run Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. Around midnight, the craftsmen finally managed to damage one of the shut-off valves and a gush of oil began to flow from the pipe. Approximately 500 people, women, men, old people and even children, armed with basins and plastic canisters, rushed to collect the gushing from the pipe oil. By loading it onto a tanker bound for a pirate exchange in the Gulf of Guinea, they could hope to make a few dollars for a night's work. Half an hour later, due to a sudden spark, the oil flared up and more than 300 people turned into firebrands in a minute. The explosion in Abula Egbe still remains one of the worst oil pipeline accidents in the entire history of their operation. Nigeria is a glaring example of instability in an oil-exporting country, which is always associated with theft on oil pipelines, say experts from the British research institute Chatham House. Their report, "Nigeria's Oil Crime: How to Stop Stolen Oil Exports," on oil theft in Nigeria reads like a detective story. African Russia

  • Nigeria ranks 13th in the world in terms of oil production: the country exports 2 million barrels per day. But not all the oil produced is sold legally - there is a whole industry in the country for theft and resale of raw materials abroad.
  • There is no exact data on the scale of the theft of Nigerian black gold. Different sources give different numbers.
  • CH experts estimate that in the first quarter of 2013, an average of 100 thousand barrels per day disappeared from Nigeria’s oil pipelines and wells. If we add to this theft during oil transportation, the figure rises to 200 thousand barrels per day.
  • All oil companies operating in the country reported theft. Shell regularly reports sabotage. At the end of March 2013, the company claimed to have discovered 90 taps into its oil pipelines.
  • Eni said attacks on its production facilities had reached an "unacceptable scale." The oil giant claims that it is losing up to 60% of its extracted raw materials - 30 thousand barrels per day.
  • Theft losses have increased dramatically over the past few years. At the end of 2009, Shell lost 10 thousand barrels per day without a trace; by March 2012, the company was already losing 50 thousand barrels.
    • Unstable exporters
  • Oil theft is common in authoritarian or politically unstable countries.
  • Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq and Mexico suffer from the oil mafia. In these states, the daily scale of theft does not exceed 10 thousand tons of barrels per day.
  • Russia can compete for the title of the international capital of oil theft. According to some reports, up to 150 thousand barrels disappear from Transneft pipes every day. Most of them disappear on the territory of Dagestan.
  • Rumors constantly circulate about the theft of raw materials in Saudi Arabia, Angola and Sudan. But they still have not received confirmation.
    • Nigerian Robin Hoods
  • In Nigeria, organized oil theft has become possible due to political instability and corruption that has reached epidemic proportions. Chatham House has noticed that criminal activity increases during times of political unrest.
  • The Nigerian oil industry has a reputation for being one of the most opaque in the world. The state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the subject of a struggle among various power clans.
  • This struggle began in the late 1970s, when the military was in power in the country. By the 2000s, the country had established democracy or its semblance. But rising oil prices have caused a new boom in thefts.
  • According to the former chief of the anti-corruption police, Nuhu Ribadu, over four decades, criminals stole about $380 billion. Most of the proceeds ended up in the accounts of the Nigerian elite in foreign banks.
  • The government has created several special funds and institutions for the development of oil regions in the Niger Delta. But fraud is rampant there. The criminals decided that by stealing oil they were not committing a crime. Rather, on the contrary, they restore justice. Today, everyone steals oil in Nigeria - from officials to peasants.
    • Types of theft 1. Petty theft for household needs Small groups of indigenous people make holes in oil pipelines with a common hacksaw and install funnels. Stolen oil is sold at the local market, sometimes right on the street. Or the raw materials are used for the thieves’ own needs - they are mixed with gasoline and diesel fuel. 2. Large scale theft In this case, oil company employees are involved in the theft. To pump out oil, they install hoses or pipes up to two kilometers long. The stolen raw materials are loaded onto barges or into fishermen's wooden canoes. They pass through a dense network of small rivers and swamps in the Niger Delta to the Gulf of Guinea. Mini-tankers are already waiting for them there, transporting oil to other countries. Operations take place at night. In this way, it is possible to steal from 3 to 18.5 thousand barrels at a time. The crews of such pirate ships are usually international. Interestingly, they often include Russian and Ukrainian sailors. 3. Theft from export terminals These are organized crimes involving high-ranking employees of oil companies. Legally delivered oil is stolen directly from tanks in temporary terminals. Documents for the transportation of raw materials are falsified. How much of the stolen oil goes to the domestic market and how much is transported to other countries is an open question. To answer this, Chatham House experts conducted an anonymous question among oil company employees. The general opinion is that 80% of stolen raw materials go abroad. Where does stolen oil go?
  • Until recently, the largest market for illicit oil from Nigeria was the United States. The raw materials were stored in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States began to inspect cargo more closely and shipments decreased.
  • Most buyers of Negiri oil are now in West Africa and Asia. Many experts interviewed said they suspect China and Singapore of buying stolen raw materials from Nigeria.
  • Chatham House claims that the problem with the theft of black gold has become so widespread that it cannot be solved alone Nigeria can not.
  • They propose to introduce an international program to combat oil theft, consisting of several points.
    • Also about the Chatham House report

    January 17th, 2013

    Over the past 50 years, the extraction of crude oil and natural gas from the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria has made some rich, but has come at a cost to most of the population and has had serious environmental consequences.

    Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye recently captured rare footage of illegal oil refineries on the banks of the Nun River in Bayesa State, Nigeria. He was able to document the secretive and dangerous illegal oil production in Nigeria, where locals illegally cut into oil pipelines, steal the oil, and then refine it or sell it abroad.


    Nigeria is the world's 8th largest producer of crude oil, while remaining one of the poorest countries: according to statistics, about 70% of its 150 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. Some local residents improve their financial situation by stealing “black gold.”

    Here's one of them. Canoeing near the site of an oil pipeline explosion from which people were trying to steal oil, January 13, 2013.

    Poor quality equipment, militant attacks, widespread oil theft and government corruption are the main reasons for the disastrous state of affairs in this region.

    Royal Dutch Shell (pronounced Royal Dutch Shell) warning sign: “High Pressure Oil Pipeline. Don't crash." By the way, the pressure in the pipe can reach 100 atmospheres.

    48 year old "entrepreneur". Carrying an empty barrel to the site of an illegal tapping into an oil pipeline. Local residents say that one can earn between $50 and $60 a day from this activity.

    It is difficult to say what will happen to nature in this region in the near future. This is where one of the illegal refineries extracts (steals) crude oil, November 17, 2012.

    Oil spilled across the area from an illegal tap near the Nun River is scooped up with buckets, November 27, 2012.

    Propaganda billboard outside Yenagoa in Bayelsa State: “Crude oil theft is leading to loss of national revenue. Don’t think about it...Avoid it.” But few people here care about this, November 28, 2012.

    Police are unsuccessfully trying to combat the theft of “black gold” near Lagos, a city in southwestern Nigeria, the largest city in the country. In this place, 3 local residents died from an oil pipeline explosion during an illegal tapping into the pipe.

    Nature in these parts of Nigeria looks depressing.

    Destroyed mangroves due to oil spill. Mangroves have an exceptional ability to exist and develop in a saline environment on soils deprived of oxygen. But they cannot exist in oil spills.

    Local residents transport illegally collected oil not only in containers, but also directly in boats.

    An old acquaintance, a 48-year-old “entrepreneur”. Scoops crude oil from the ground with buckets.

    A common type of illegal crude oil production (theft) plant.

    A portrait (or, as it is now fashionable to say, a bow) against the backdrop of a workplace. The employee said that he has been doing this for 2 years and he earns about $60 a day.

    Fire at the site of illegal oil production. Some shots resemble war scenes. At times this is true. Hostilities take place between illegal miners and the police and military.

    A young woman fishes on the Nun River, then sells it. Perhaps this product can be called “oil fish”.

    Crude oil theft is costly to Nigeria's environment. This is the price of “black gold”.