AN APPRAISAL ON THE IMPACT OF OIL INDUSTRY ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

         In this chapter, we will discuss on the background of the study, statement of problem, purpose of the study, significance and some research questions, the scope and the limitation of the study.

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Oil is said to be a mixture of organic chemical derived mainly from the remains of microscopic plants and animal that lives in sees millions years ago.

Special condition and great length of times were needed for these remains to undergo complex chemical changes to for oil. These are sometimes concentrated in accumulations which man can detect and exploit.

Oil exploitation began more than a hundred years ago, when drilling was carried out near oil seeps which indicated that oil lay below the surface. Today, much more sophisticated techniques are employed such as seismic surveying and satellite imaging, powerful computers assist geologist in interpreting their finding. At the end of the day however, only the drill can determine whether or not oil lies blow the ground.

Nigeria which has among the world leading producers of palm oil for over two centuries has suddenly become one of the nations of the world with an average production of 2.3millions of barrels per day.

Nigeria’s oil industry has an interesting element in common with the country’s once celebrating palm oil industry. The palm oil trade was a crucial factors influencing the British to maintain and later Amex the territory (The oil Rivers protectorates) in the later party of the 19th century, at the peak of the European scramble for Africa. This is the same location that today habours most of the Nigeria oil exploitation. The oil industry in Nigeria is one of the leading sectors of the economy. It has risen to position of prominence and has become the pivot of the Nigerian economy since its inception in 1952s. However, after two decade of the oil boom, the industrialization of the economy has remained a mirage.

Nigeria hitherto was on agriculture producing economy in the past the export of the economy consisted mainly of agricultural products such as cocoa, rubber and groundnut etc. the picture has changed dramatically and lilted towards the oil industry while other sectors of the economy including agriculture have contained o lag behind. Little wonder then that the country have contained import food substantially which is ironical in view of the fact that agricultural is still the mainstay of the economy employing about seventy (70) percent of the population.

By the earlier 1990s, petroleum production accounted for over ninety (90) percent of foreign exchange receipts (oil export accounted for ninety seven (97) percent of local export receipts) ten (10) percent of GDP. However, more importantly, the rising oil revenue and declining GDP of the late 1980s suggest that the impact of the oil boom in the earlier decades was so detrimental to non-oil economic activities that even increasing oil revenue after the low rate of 1986 were not sufficient to initiate or sustain a GDP recovering. Some structural aspect of the economy reveal the failure of Nigerian oil revenues to provide the impetus for growth in other sector and describe the basis for what has been essentially uneasy manage between energy and economic growth in the country per capital income has declined for about $1,000 (in current dollars) in 1980 to about $240 in 1991. The evolution in the structure of production shows that the share of agriculture in GDP has decline to 37 percent in 1997 and 41 percent in 1986, despite the introduction of the structural adjustment programme (SAP) which emphasized the need to re-establish agriculture as a growth sector.

The share of industry (Manufacturing plus mining) however increased from 29 percent in 1986 to 28 percent in 1991 but more importantly, there has been almost no change in the share of manufacturing (around 7-8percent) over the past ten years, oil revenues it is clear that it has not succeed in the strengthening either the manufacturing or the agricultural base on the economy. Furthermore, the oil boom year and massive government expenditure or what was primarily infrastructure and other non-tradable did not prepare the economy for the oil production cutback of the early 1980s and the price shock to 1986.

The external debt has consequently increased from a manageable $20 billion in 1980 to about $30billion in 1992. The servicing of the debt is as the economy as a whole, highly dependent on oil revenues while the oil industry invariably received much from successive Nigerian government and foreign oil companies received the necessary inventories 5o ensure that their continued presence, the story of oil in Nigeria is one of the missed opportunity administrative disorganization, increase in public expenditure, increasing dependence on oil revenue economy.

1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

         As the leading sector of the economy, the oil industry should have some positive spill over into the other sectors of the economy such as technological transfer forward and backward linkage.

         The fast growing population rather acquired a taste for a high quality of life and social well being was emphasized at the rest of the economy. This oil industry is virtually an enclave which is integrated more with the economies of Europe, America and France than Nigeria. The Nigerian economy has become dependent on oil revenues over the past decades. During the 1986-92 periods, oil export revenues increased at an average of 13 percent per annum which GDP measure in current US Dollars, decreased by an average in oil export revenues increased at an average in oil export revenues along side that continuing decline of the non-oil economy implies higher dependency.

         Over the years, the contributions of the oil industry to the growth of Nigeria economy are great. On this premise, the researchers want to appraise the impact of oil industry on the economic development of Nigeria. Using SPDC as a case study.