<P> Nigeria has become West Africa 's biggest producer of petroleum . Some 2 million barrels ( 320,000 m ) a day are extracted in the Niger Delta . It is estimated that 38 billion barrels of crude oil still reside under the delta as of early 2012 . The first oil operations in the region began in the 1950s and were undertaken by multinational corporations , which provided Nigeria with necessary technological and financial resources to extract oil . Since 1975 , the region has accounted for more than 75 % of Nigeria 's export earnings . Together oil and natural gas extraction comprise `` 97 per cent of Nigeria 's foreign exchange revenues '' . Much of the natural gas extracted in oil wells in the Delta is immediately burned , or flared , into the air at a rate of approximately 70 million m3per day . This is equivalent to 41 % of African natural gas consumption , and forms the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet . In 2003 , about 99 % of excess gas was flared in the Niger Delta , although this value has fallen to 11 % in 2010 . ( See also gas flaring volumes ) . The biggest gas flaring company is the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd , a joint venture that is majority owned by the Nigerian government . In Nigeria , `` ... despite regulations introduced 20 years ago to outlaw the practice , most associated gas is flared , causing local pollution and contributing to climate change . '' The environmental devastation associated with the industry and the lack of distribution of oil wealth have been the source and / or key aggravating factors of numerous environmental movements and inter-ethnic conflicts in the region , including recent guerrilla activity by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ( MEND ) . </P>
<P> Nigeria has become West Africa 's biggest producer of petroleum . Some 2 million barrels ( 320,000 m ) a day are extracted in the Niger Delta . It is estimated that 38 billion barrels of crude oil still reside under the delta as of early 2012 . The first oil operations in the region began in the 1950s and were undertaken by multinational corporations , which provided Nigeria with necessary technological and financial resources to extract oil . Since 1975 , the region has accounted for more than 75 % of Nigeria 's export earnings . Together oil and natural gas extraction comprise `` 97 per cent of Nigeria 's foreign exchange revenues '' . Much of the natural gas extracted in oil wells in the Delta is immediately burned , or flared , into the air at a rate of approximately 70 million m3per day . This is equivalent to 41 % of African natural gas consumption , and forms the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet . In 2003 , about 99 % of excess gas was flared in the Niger Delta , although this value has fallen to 11 % in 2010 . ( See also gas flaring volumes ) . The biggest gas flaring company is the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd , a joint venture that is majority owned by the Nigerian government . In Nigeria , `` ... despite regulations introduced 20 years ago to outlaw the practice , most associated gas is flared , causing local pollution and contributing to climate change . '' The environmental devastation associated with the industry and the lack of distribution of oil wealth have been the source and / or key aggravating factors of numerous environmental movements and inter-ethnic conflicts in the region , including recent guerrilla activity by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ( MEND ) . </P>
places where crude oil is found in nigeria
places where crude oil is found in nigeria
the Niger Delta
the Niger Delta