Oil for nothing

Oil for nothing

Oil for nothing starts from a simple question: where does the gasoline we use every day come from? And the answer: largely from Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil exporter but also one of the poorest countries in the continent. In the Niger Delta the devastating impacts of oil extraction are found everywhere, stretching over 50 years of oil exploitation with no visible benefit to local communities. A subsidiary of the Italian company Eni, the Nigerian Agip Oil Corporation started production in 1970, and what is left after all these years? No schools, no hospitals, and but a few kilometers of asphalt to get to Eni facilities. From the extraction process of crude oil, gas is burned 24 hours a day, and flames spew dioxins, benzene, sulphur, carcinogens. Gas flaring has in recent decades gone hand in hand with an increase a wide spectrum of respiratory diseases and cancers, not to mention the damage caused by acid rain. Nigeria is seen today by the European Union as a strategic country for Europe's energy demands, but at what cost? Are oil and gas really the answer to our energy needs and the need for environmental sustainability of the future?
From:
Bankwatch
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