Petroleum was discovered in commercial quantity in 1956 by shell BP at Oloibiri in the present River State. Ever since 1976 till date, petroleum has remained the major source of government revenue in Nigeria.
POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PETROLEUM TO NIGERIA ECONOMY
- Petroleum serves as sources of revenue to the country.
- Employment generation e.g. petroleum engineers, geologists, chemical engineers etc.
- Improvement in the infrastructure of the country e.g. flyovers, airports roads development are linked to earning from petroleum.
- The major foreign exchange earnings in the country is crude oil. Therefore petroleum serves as source of foreign exchange.
- Development of oil related industries e.g. oil servicing firm, petro chemical industry.
- Improvement of the living standard of the citizens of the country.
- Provision of wide range of products.
- Major source of fuel e.g. petrol, diesel, kerosene etc.
- Repositioning of the country in the global politics.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF PETROLEUM IN NIGERIA
- Environment pollution e.g. Niger Delta area with land and air pollution.
- Inflation – since the discovery of oil in Nigeria prices of goods and services have been Skyrocketing.
- Neglect of Agriculture – prices of food stuff in the market are so dear due to neglect of agricultural sector which used to be the major source of revenue for the government.
- Increase in crime rate – emergence of advance fee fraud known as 419, Cybercrime, Armed robbery, pen robbery are traceable to emergence of oil.
- Civil Unrest – Breakdown of law and order in Niger Delta, coupled with kidnapping of oil workers for ransom had turned the country to a no go area.
EVALUATION
- List four positive contributions of crude oil to the development of the Nigeria’s Economy.
- Discuss seven negative contributions of crude oil in the Nigerian Economy.
Mineral Resources in Nigeria
- Coal
- Iron Ore
- Tin and Columbite
- Limestone
- Lead and Zinc
NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was established in 1977 and was saddled with the responsibility of exploration production and refining of petroleum as well as distributing i.e. marketing of crude oil and petroleum products.
ROLES OF THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC)
- Regulating the activities of the oil companies i.e. issuance of license for oil exploration, prospecting, operation of filling stations.
- Exploration and production of petroleum products.
- Refining and distributing the products for domestic use.
- Manpower development, this led to the establishment of the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri, Delta State.
- Implementing oil policies i.e. determining the prices of petroleum products.
- Employment generation.
EVALUATION
- Outline five positive effects of petroleum to the economy of Nigeria.
- Is petroleum a problem or blessing to Nigeria Economy?
GENERAL EVALUATION
- Describe the methods of measuring national income.
- Discuss the economic activities.
- State five determinant of elasticity of demand.
- What is a supply schedule?
- State the reasons for holding money..
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
- Where in Nigeria was petroleum first discovered in commercial quantity.
- Enugu B. Oloibiri C. Kaduna D.Ogoja
- Which company first discovered petroleum in commercial quantity in Nigeria.
- Shell BP B. Agip C. Gulf D. Butman
- Which of the following is not done by the NNPC?
- Production of crude oil B. Refining of crude oil C. Exportation for crude oil
- Exploitation of crude oil E. Pricing of crude oil
- The major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria is _______
- Agriculture B. sports C. Tourism D. Petroleum
- Mono product economies are those that produce _________
- only inter mediate product B. agricultural product C. agricultural products D. one man commodity
THEORY
- Explain three positive and two negative contributions of petroleum to the Nigerian economy.
- Discuss the role of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
See also