Petroleum and the Nigeria Economy

Topic Content:

The development of the petroleum industry in Nigeria has taken different stages at different times in the history of Nigeria. The first attempt at oil exploration in Nigeria was in 1908 by a German company while the second major effort was in 1938 by Shell D’Arcy, an Anglo-Dutch company that was granted an exploration licence to prospect for oil throughout Nigeria.

In January 1956 , the first economic crude petroleum was discovered by Shell D’Arcy (the company changed its name in April 1956 to Shell B.P ), in Nigeria, at Oloibiri , a small community in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa State, in the Niger Delta and in 1958 the full production took off.