The Causal Effects Of Oil On Regional Conflict - 2148 Words

Introduction Oil, although a natural resource should be seen as a harmless, plentiful substance, in the modern world it is now considered a symbol of wealth; which in my view is representative of political and economic power. Countries that have oil reserves, or who can exploit oil ownership are often seen and acknowledged of the most powerful nations in the world. China, Russia, and the United States of America all have vast reserves of oil and are widely considered to be the top three Super Powers as they are categorized as being . I consider oil to be a primary cause of conflicts globally, for example the hostilities in the Niger Delta. It is a common thought that oil and conflict go hand in hand wherever found. The purpose of this†¦show more content†¦Their leader, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, wanted greater control of the natural resources within the Delta, and to have a national conference to renegotiate Nigeria’s federal constitution. Many activists have wanted these negotiations to be held for years, but Asari is willing to use force to get these talks, and that is where he varies from many of these other political activists. Asari has links to organised crime within the region. The protests in this region have been described as being â€Å"akin to American gangland fighting for the control of drug trade†. [4] These attacks on the oil companies are serious enough for the government to ‘reward’ the violence by holding discussions with these warlords. The reason for this is that the country is a petro-state. This means that the country’s economy relies heavily on oil revenue, about 50 per cent of the GDP, 95 per cent foreign exchange earnings and 80 per cent of its budgetary revenues. This came about after the civil war, beforehand Nigeria was a relatively small producer of oil, but after it became a global producer of oil, 5th biggest producer in the group OPEC. Because of this civil war, oil companies such a Shell have had to form close partnerships with the Nigerian government, and indeed military dictatorships in order to exploit the abundance of oil in the country. Very little money from the oil production has gone into the communities where the oil is