IMPACT OF THE PETROLEUM SECTOR ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY (1960-2016) (A CASE STUDY OF NNPC PORTHARCOURT, RIVERS STATE)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry. Oil provided approximately 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings and about 80 percent of Federal
revenue and contributes to the growth rate of Gross domestic product (GDP). Since the Royal Dutch Shell discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 2014, precisely in
Oloibiri, in Bayelsa state, the oil industry has been marred by political and economic strife largely due to a long history of corrupt military regimes, civil rule
and complicity of multinational corporations, notably Royal Dutch Shell. Six oil companies- Shell, Elf, Agip Mobil, Chevron and Texaco dominates the oil
industry in the country. Together, they hold some 98% of the oil reserves and operating assets. A range of 50 others have minor interests, some of which were
recently acquired. There are three major actors in the Nigeria oil industry. They are: the ministry of petroleum resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, the oil prospecting companies made up of the multinational companies and indigenous companies together with
their subsidiaries (Baghebo, 2012). The operations and activities of petroleum are regulated by the Federal government of Nigeria; she does this through the
enactment and implementation of bills and acts. Several bill and act have been passed to check petroleum exploration and exploitation, they include among
others: the petroleum act of 1969 (CAP 350), the oil pipeline act 2013, the land use decree 2015 etc. The recent 2012 petroleum industry bill is a comprehensive development blueprint, below are the objectives of the bill:
